I decided to start painting, so I brought Boaz into the studio Noah had prepared for me. I pulled a chair up to the easel and told Boaz to sit down and wait, and he did so promptly.
“Boaz, you are good.”
I closed one eye and sat Boaz, who had served as a model, in front of me, and measured his proportions. Boaz, visible behind the pencil held out, stuck out his tongue, panting, and sat patiently waiting.
“I’ll give you a snack when you’re done.”
"Woof."
“Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“Woof...”
It seems I caught him pretending not to understand. After quickly finishing my sketch, I tossed Boaz a bone for a treat. He seemed excited and started growling and gnawing on it. Compared to his sullen, refusing to eat at first, his expression brightened significantly, and he began acting like a normal dog. Playing tug-of-war with a piece of old cloth marked the beginning of our glorious friendship.
Boaz's broom-like tail swished as he approached, carrying a large bone in his mouth. It seemed to be a daring gesture, inviting me to take a bite.
“I don’t want to eat.”
It's so cute how, when I tell him not to eat it, he puts down the bone and looks up at me with his snout resting on my lap. Dogs are really kind and cute. They're different from people.
“You know what? They say dogs never betray people.”
As I gently stroked his head, Boaz's eyes closed tightly. Judging by the corners of his lips, he seemed to be in a good mood.
"You won't hurt me, you won't be hypocritical. You won't turn your back when you're upset, and you won't hate me when you're abandoned. You'll be on my side unconditionally."
Boaz's warm, wood-colored eyes were fixed on me, as if listening. In sunlight, it was a low umber, and in shadow, it would be similar to that color if I used Van Dyke paints.
“Is it because I think of you as family?”
A small whimper escaped Boaz's neck at the mention of "family." Perhaps his experience of being separated from his family was similar to mine. In an instant, he was alone.
“I still don't quite understand what it is, even though I lived in a time much earlier than this.”
I wonder if I'll ever know once I have a child. Usually, it ends with marriage, children, and a happily ever after. But seeing as I don't return to reality even after marriage, I guess the story of this world won't end until I die.
I'm torn between being someone's unconditional supporter and being the most important person to me. I cast my gaze down, my mind agitated, to the sunlight, neatly divided into four sections, reflecting the shape of the window frame, and streaming down onto the floor.
Noah stopped by the Queen's office within Tempshire Palace to report on the situation at Cynthia's Dakanhav branch and base. Upon seeing Noah enter the drawing room, the Queen dismissed all of the maids present.
Her green eyes turned to Noah, who sat opposite her, dressed in a sharp, semi-formal suit. Sitting upright, holding the handle of his teacup with one hand and the small teacup with the other, Noah possessed the dignity befitting a nobleman.
A quiet silence flowed between them as they faced each other, facing a table in the middle, a golden platter containing a red, luscious pomegranate. The Queen spoke first.
“Noah, do you still have no intention of joining the government?”
"You're taking me as the Queen's mistress? I feel a little embarrassed about this between us."
At Noah's pointless joke, the Queen covered her mouth with her white hand and smiled elegantly. The gorgeous sapphire ring on her finger sparkled.
"You still enjoy that kind of prank. Considering your contributions and abilities, you should be able to do it. Well, it seems you weren't interested in Frogen politics either."
“It won’t work because I'm from Frogen.”
“Now you have chosen Medea, and you have also received a title.”
"Soon, Frogen will be declared a war criminal by the international community. And I, a high-ranking official, will become a war criminal."
The Queen's lips closed in a straight line, then gently curved again.
"Yes, that's why I recommend it. I care about you very much. You're like family to me."
“Anyway, the government won’t do anything.”
"It sounds weird, so stop saying that. Anyway, I was just suggesting it, so do whatever you want. I've already been helping you enough."
“I plan to stay like this and then go to a quiet vacation spot after the war ends.”
“You sound like a retired politician.”
Noah, who was chewing on a pomegranate seed, smiled. The Queen tilted her upper body and stared at him intently, almost obsessively.
“Noah, don’t you have any plans to talk about Diana?”
"No."
"Let me get straight to the point. Can you tell me about what was on Diana's back?"
Noah was completely unfazed. Instead, he smiled leisurely.
“Well, you seem to be very interested in my wife.”
"Since this birthmark is rare and only appears in the Spencer bloodline, shouldn't we know who she is? I have a feeling she could be a distant relative of mine."
“Well, I’d like to tell you, but...”
Noah, who had been circling the mouth of his teacup with his finger, trailed off and paused.
“I don’t know either.”
The Queen let out a hollow laugh, as if she'd seen the reaction she'd expected. Her eyes had sharpened sharply.
“Your wife has had a truly pitiful life, because she was born to bad parents.”
Noah looked up at the Queen, his eyes narrowed, his mouth still on his teacup. She continued, one hand resting under her chin.
"I don't know if she can endure the gossip and criticism from high society and the nobility. It's so pitiful."
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"I already knew. I asked because I wanted you to tell the truth."
The Queen's voice, cold and cold, grew heavier, but Noah answered calmly, still with the same smile.
“You know something I don’t even know.”
“Are you saying you didn’t know that he was the illegitimate child of Admiral Claire and Agnes, a distant collaborator of the Spencer family, the Harrison family?”
“Adultery, illegitimate child.”
Noah, who had been quietly mulling over her words, brushed back his silver-white hair and let out a shallow sigh. His drooping eyelids slowly lifted, revealing more of the whites of his lower eyes than usual. His blue eyes, now piercing with a piercing gaze, stared directly at the Queen.
His upper lip twisted as if he was about to reveal his fangs, but soon he drew a pretty curve.
“You’ll regret saying that.”
"I'm not insulting your wife. I'm just stating the truth."
“It’s not just an insult to my wife.”
The Queen's face tilted curiously, her eyes wide. Noah looked at his wristwatch, slowly stood up, and bowed.
“I’m going back now. It’s time to go for a walk with my wife and the dog.”
After Noah left, the Queen rubbed her temples and frowned. Regret shone through the shadows between her brows. Finally, with a dejected expression, she muttered to herself.
“...I took my anger out on an innocent person for no reason.”
To cover up Agnes's murder and protect Jace and the Lieutenant Colonel, Prime Minister Groenendaal was forced to leak sensational information about her affair and her sordid private life. He figured the Admiral wouldn't object to the rumors, as it would also cover up his crimes.
As the Duke of Belford and Prime Minister, he held honor in high regard, so no one suspected the information was a hoax from the Duke of Groenendaal. The information, however, quickly reached the Queen's ears. When she first heard it, she was quite shocked.
The Queen, sitting alone on the sofa and looking out the window, muttered to herself, recalling the shock she felt when she heard the news.
"It's hard to believe. Working as a maid under my mother's protection, secretly giving birth to and raising the child of the heir to the Duke of Belford, and then having Admiral Claire's child."
Not long after, a woman in a light yellow dress and a hat pulled down low entered the room.
When she took off her hat, her small, round face was revealed, with faint freckles visible on the bridge of her nose, even though she had covered them with makeup.
“Did you call, Your Majesty?”
"Yes, Renier. Count Rotsilt hasn't opened his mouth at all. Have you found out anything else?"
Renier, who had first relayed the information that Agnes Harrison was Diana's biological mother, bowed and rolled her eyes. The Queen added, as if urging her on.
“The decisive reason why Agnes, a loyal knight-maiden, turned her back on her family and country and left for Belford.”
"Yes, Your Majesty. She seems to have left for Belford, having no one to protect her anymore, and to keep that fact a secret. After giving birth to a child and leaving it with the Admiral, she appears to have married the current Prime Minister, Damian Groenendaal, the father of her two previous sons. No one in the Groenendaal family appears to have known about this."
“Haha, so that’s why Admiral Claire hid Diana’s existence and discriminated against her.”
The Queen snorted in disbelief and touched her forehead. Her once beautiful nose was now furrowed fiercely. It was the reminder that Diana and Elita were the same age.
The butterfly-shaped birthmark on Diana's wedding day. The Queen's green eyes narrowed as the situation became almost certain. The conclusion that she had been in love with two women at the same time—herself as a Princess and Agnes, daughter of the late Count of Harrison, a former Minister of Justice and a member of a noble family—tormented her heart and left her heart in turmoil.
It might be natural, since he was obsessed with power and tried to gain power by any means necessary.
However, she had no idea that Agnes, a loyal knight and kind maid, would do something like this. The feeling of being betrayed by someone she trusted was indescribable.
Agnes had actively assisted her in sneaking out of the palace to meet Admiral Claire. Knowing of their relationship, she pretended not to know, meeting him behind his back and even having a child with him. The Queen's lips twisted in disgust as she imagined how they must have laughed at her.
"Your Majesty, your complexion is not good. Shall I call the royal doctor?"
“No, it’s okay.”
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes in worry over Renier, the Queen muttered palely, as if to console herself. Her tightly clenched hands trembled slightly.
Even after more than a decade, the lingering sense of betrayal and wounds felt more like pain than tenderness. She drank lukewarm black tea to cool the burning sensation in her chest, but the simmering resentment and anger remained undiminished.
Renier, who had been staring at the Queen, who could not completely hide her expression, opened her mouth with difficulty.
"I'm being presumptuous, but... after further investigation, I found Diana Clare innocent of any charges or crimes. In fact, she lived a miserable life. Count Rotsilt married her knowingly and appears to have deliberately concealed the information."
“Well, what crime could that child, who knows nothing, have committed?”
The Queen turned her head away, as if ignoring the pity she once felt for Diana. Her heavy diamond earrings swayed slowly with the movement. Renier's lips moved with difficulty.
“I think rumors will start spreading throughout the capital soon.”
"There's nothing I can do. I can't get involved in such personal matters or help her."
She'll be labeled the illegitimate child of a mother whose scandalous private life brought shame to the family. That's Agnes's karma, passed down to her children.
The Queen gestured for her to leave, then put on her silver-rimmed glasses and picked up the newspaper. Renier lowered her eyes, looking down at her clasped hands. She felt a pang of pity for Diana. From what she'd seen during their brief time together as a maid named "Renie," she wasn't a bad person, at least.
Rumors of Agnes Harrison's scandalous private life and the resulting mixed-race illegitimate child, Diana, began to spread rapidly as the anniversary celebrations began.
“Boaz, you are good.”
I closed one eye and sat Boaz, who had served as a model, in front of me, and measured his proportions. Boaz, visible behind the pencil held out, stuck out his tongue, panting, and sat patiently waiting.
“I’ll give you a snack when you’re done.”
"Woof."
“Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“Woof...”
It seems I caught him pretending not to understand. After quickly finishing my sketch, I tossed Boaz a bone for a treat. He seemed excited and started growling and gnawing on it. Compared to his sullen, refusing to eat at first, his expression brightened significantly, and he began acting like a normal dog. Playing tug-of-war with a piece of old cloth marked the beginning of our glorious friendship.
Boaz's broom-like tail swished as he approached, carrying a large bone in his mouth. It seemed to be a daring gesture, inviting me to take a bite.
“I don’t want to eat.”
It's so cute how, when I tell him not to eat it, he puts down the bone and looks up at me with his snout resting on my lap. Dogs are really kind and cute. They're different from people.
“You know what? They say dogs never betray people.”
As I gently stroked his head, Boaz's eyes closed tightly. Judging by the corners of his lips, he seemed to be in a good mood.
"You won't hurt me, you won't be hypocritical. You won't turn your back when you're upset, and you won't hate me when you're abandoned. You'll be on my side unconditionally."
Boaz's warm, wood-colored eyes were fixed on me, as if listening. In sunlight, it was a low umber, and in shadow, it would be similar to that color if I used Van Dyke paints.
“Is it because I think of you as family?”
A small whimper escaped Boaz's neck at the mention of "family." Perhaps his experience of being separated from his family was similar to mine. In an instant, he was alone.
“I still don't quite understand what it is, even though I lived in a time much earlier than this.”
I wonder if I'll ever know once I have a child. Usually, it ends with marriage, children, and a happily ever after. But seeing as I don't return to reality even after marriage, I guess the story of this world won't end until I die.
I'm torn between being someone's unconditional supporter and being the most important person to me. I cast my gaze down, my mind agitated, to the sunlight, neatly divided into four sections, reflecting the shape of the window frame, and streaming down onto the floor.
***
Noah stopped by the Queen's office within Tempshire Palace to report on the situation at Cynthia's Dakanhav branch and base. Upon seeing Noah enter the drawing room, the Queen dismissed all of the maids present.
Her green eyes turned to Noah, who sat opposite her, dressed in a sharp, semi-formal suit. Sitting upright, holding the handle of his teacup with one hand and the small teacup with the other, Noah possessed the dignity befitting a nobleman.
A quiet silence flowed between them as they faced each other, facing a table in the middle, a golden platter containing a red, luscious pomegranate. The Queen spoke first.
“Noah, do you still have no intention of joining the government?”
"You're taking me as the Queen's mistress? I feel a little embarrassed about this between us."
At Noah's pointless joke, the Queen covered her mouth with her white hand and smiled elegantly. The gorgeous sapphire ring on her finger sparkled.
"You still enjoy that kind of prank. Considering your contributions and abilities, you should be able to do it. Well, it seems you weren't interested in Frogen politics either."
“It won’t work because I'm from Frogen.”
“Now you have chosen Medea, and you have also received a title.”
"Soon, Frogen will be declared a war criminal by the international community. And I, a high-ranking official, will become a war criminal."
The Queen's lips closed in a straight line, then gently curved again.
"Yes, that's why I recommend it. I care about you very much. You're like family to me."
“Anyway, the government won’t do anything.”
"It sounds weird, so stop saying that. Anyway, I was just suggesting it, so do whatever you want. I've already been helping you enough."
“I plan to stay like this and then go to a quiet vacation spot after the war ends.”
“You sound like a retired politician.”
Noah, who was chewing on a pomegranate seed, smiled. The Queen tilted her upper body and stared at him intently, almost obsessively.
“Noah, don’t you have any plans to talk about Diana?”
"No."
"Let me get straight to the point. Can you tell me about what was on Diana's back?"
Noah was completely unfazed. Instead, he smiled leisurely.
“Well, you seem to be very interested in my wife.”
"Since this birthmark is rare and only appears in the Spencer bloodline, shouldn't we know who she is? I have a feeling she could be a distant relative of mine."
“Well, I’d like to tell you, but...”
Noah, who had been circling the mouth of his teacup with his finger, trailed off and paused.
“I don’t know either.”
The Queen let out a hollow laugh, as if she'd seen the reaction she'd expected. Her eyes had sharpened sharply.
“Your wife has had a truly pitiful life, because she was born to bad parents.”
Noah looked up at the Queen, his eyes narrowed, his mouth still on his teacup. She continued, one hand resting under her chin.
"I don't know if she can endure the gossip and criticism from high society and the nobility. It's so pitiful."
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"I already knew. I asked because I wanted you to tell the truth."
The Queen's voice, cold and cold, grew heavier, but Noah answered calmly, still with the same smile.
“You know something I don’t even know.”
“Are you saying you didn’t know that he was the illegitimate child of Admiral Claire and Agnes, a distant collaborator of the Spencer family, the Harrison family?”
“Adultery, illegitimate child.”
Noah, who had been quietly mulling over her words, brushed back his silver-white hair and let out a shallow sigh. His drooping eyelids slowly lifted, revealing more of the whites of his lower eyes than usual. His blue eyes, now piercing with a piercing gaze, stared directly at the Queen.
His upper lip twisted as if he was about to reveal his fangs, but soon he drew a pretty curve.
“You’ll regret saying that.”
"I'm not insulting your wife. I'm just stating the truth."
“It’s not just an insult to my wife.”
The Queen's face tilted curiously, her eyes wide. Noah looked at his wristwatch, slowly stood up, and bowed.
“I’m going back now. It’s time to go for a walk with my wife and the dog.”
After Noah left, the Queen rubbed her temples and frowned. Regret shone through the shadows between her brows. Finally, with a dejected expression, she muttered to herself.
“...I took my anger out on an innocent person for no reason.”
***
To cover up Agnes's murder and protect Jace and the Lieutenant Colonel, Prime Minister Groenendaal was forced to leak sensational information about her affair and her sordid private life. He figured the Admiral wouldn't object to the rumors, as it would also cover up his crimes.
As the Duke of Belford and Prime Minister, he held honor in high regard, so no one suspected the information was a hoax from the Duke of Groenendaal. The information, however, quickly reached the Queen's ears. When she first heard it, she was quite shocked.
The Queen, sitting alone on the sofa and looking out the window, muttered to herself, recalling the shock she felt when she heard the news.
"It's hard to believe. Working as a maid under my mother's protection, secretly giving birth to and raising the child of the heir to the Duke of Belford, and then having Admiral Claire's child."
Not long after, a woman in a light yellow dress and a hat pulled down low entered the room.
When she took off her hat, her small, round face was revealed, with faint freckles visible on the bridge of her nose, even though she had covered them with makeup.
“Did you call, Your Majesty?”
"Yes, Renier. Count Rotsilt hasn't opened his mouth at all. Have you found out anything else?"
Renier, who had first relayed the information that Agnes Harrison was Diana's biological mother, bowed and rolled her eyes. The Queen added, as if urging her on.
“The decisive reason why Agnes, a loyal knight-maiden, turned her back on her family and country and left for Belford.”
"Yes, Your Majesty. She seems to have left for Belford, having no one to protect her anymore, and to keep that fact a secret. After giving birth to a child and leaving it with the Admiral, she appears to have married the current Prime Minister, Damian Groenendaal, the father of her two previous sons. No one in the Groenendaal family appears to have known about this."
“Haha, so that’s why Admiral Claire hid Diana’s existence and discriminated against her.”
The Queen snorted in disbelief and touched her forehead. Her once beautiful nose was now furrowed fiercely. It was the reminder that Diana and Elita were the same age.
The butterfly-shaped birthmark on Diana's wedding day. The Queen's green eyes narrowed as the situation became almost certain. The conclusion that she had been in love with two women at the same time—herself as a Princess and Agnes, daughter of the late Count of Harrison, a former Minister of Justice and a member of a noble family—tormented her heart and left her heart in turmoil.
It might be natural, since he was obsessed with power and tried to gain power by any means necessary.
However, she had no idea that Agnes, a loyal knight and kind maid, would do something like this. The feeling of being betrayed by someone she trusted was indescribable.
Agnes had actively assisted her in sneaking out of the palace to meet Admiral Claire. Knowing of their relationship, she pretended not to know, meeting him behind his back and even having a child with him. The Queen's lips twisted in disgust as she imagined how they must have laughed at her.
"Your Majesty, your complexion is not good. Shall I call the royal doctor?"
“No, it’s okay.”
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes in worry over Renier, the Queen muttered palely, as if to console herself. Her tightly clenched hands trembled slightly.
Even after more than a decade, the lingering sense of betrayal and wounds felt more like pain than tenderness. She drank lukewarm black tea to cool the burning sensation in her chest, but the simmering resentment and anger remained undiminished.
Renier, who had been staring at the Queen, who could not completely hide her expression, opened her mouth with difficulty.
"I'm being presumptuous, but... after further investigation, I found Diana Clare innocent of any charges or crimes. In fact, she lived a miserable life. Count Rotsilt married her knowingly and appears to have deliberately concealed the information."
“Well, what crime could that child, who knows nothing, have committed?”
The Queen turned her head away, as if ignoring the pity she once felt for Diana. Her heavy diamond earrings swayed slowly with the movement. Renier's lips moved with difficulty.
“I think rumors will start spreading throughout the capital soon.”
"There's nothing I can do. I can't get involved in such personal matters or help her."
She'll be labeled the illegitimate child of a mother whose scandalous private life brought shame to the family. That's Agnes's karma, passed down to her children.
The Queen gestured for her to leave, then put on her silver-rimmed glasses and picked up the newspaper. Renier lowered her eyes, looking down at her clasped hands. She felt a pang of pity for Diana. From what she'd seen during their brief time together as a maid named "Renie," she wasn't a bad person, at least.
Rumors of Agnes Harrison's scandalous private life and the resulting mixed-race illegitimate child, Diana, began to spread rapidly as the anniversary celebrations began.
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