After that day, Cedric did not appear at Odelia's mansion for a while.
He usually came and went several times a day, but when he hadn't been seen for several days, the servants began to look at him with a pensive look of wonder. Eventually, the Grand Duchess spoke first.
"Lord Cedric hasn't been coming to visit lately. Did Miss Odelia have a fight?"
Odelia shook her head with an awkward smile, as if embarrassed.
“It’s not like that.”
If they had fought, it wouldn't be this uncomfortable.
Shouldn't she have sent him off like that that day? Odelia was worried that Cedric had been deeply hurt by her actions, but she couldn't even shamelessly contact him first, knowing that she was the one who had caused it.
Calix stared intently at Odelia, who looked distraught. The duo, sensing that something more embarrassing had happened than just a fight, decided not to press the issue further.
"If it weren't for that, it wouldn't matter, but it seems like a new member has joined while I was away for a while."
The Grand Duchess's gaze turned to Judith, who approached with a bright smile. From that day on, Judith would visit the mansion every day in Cedric's stead.
"It is an honor to meet you like this, Your Highness the Grand Duchess."
The two quickly became close, as if they had something in common. Throughout their conversation, they were filled with constant laughter, "Haha, haa, hoho."
Odelia's heart grew heavy as she watched him. Even though the surroundings were so bustling that Cedric's absence was barely noticeable, a part of her heart felt empty.
Is this really how my relationship with Cedric will end?
Or should I go find it?
But when she goes there and says something, he rejects her so firmly.
Just as she was about to sigh, someone lightly tapped the back of her hand.
As Odelia turned her head, her eyes met with Calix, who was sitting next to her.
Come out.
As Odelia slowly nodded at the sight of him speaking only with his mouth, Calix got up first and left. Odelia, who was left behind, also carefully watched the expressions of Grand Duchess Slamac and Judith and carefully left the room.
As she headed to the terrace, Calix, who had come out first, was waiting with his arms crossed behind his back.
“Did Cedric confess?”
Odelia blinked in confusion at the question.
"How did you know? Did Cedric tell you everything?"
Calix sighed, exhaling and shaking his head.
"It's strange not knowing it."
"..."
"So that's why your expression was so bad."
"..."
"Did you reject Cedric's confession?"
Odelia looked away without answering.
After a moment of silence, Calix slowly reached out. His fingers gently lifted the tip of her chin.
"There won't be any scar left. That's fortunate."
Calix examined Odelia's cheek closely, as if checking the wound left by Fabiana the last time.
“Are you applying the ointment regularly?”
Odelia was overcome by a strange emotion at his carefree touch and tone. Something deep within her heart surged up.
This must be karma. Cedric, did you feel this way too?
Cedric's face, crying in front of her that night, suddenly came to mind.
If she didn't sort things out now, she might make that face next time. Odelia took a couple of steps back. She nodded and answered stiffly.
"The ointment is applied well."
Calix's fingertips, left hanging in the air, trembled awkwardly, like a gust of wind hovering without being able to grab onto anything.
Calix looked at the spot where Odelia's body heat had escaped and tightly grasped his hand that had lost its way. As if he was desperately trying to grasp the very fine sand flowing between his fingers.
“I didn’t expect this to happen,” said Calix, who continued speaking calmly.
"There's going to be a banquet at the Duke's house this time. All the candidates I've been looking at will be there, so you should attend and take a look."
"At that banquet, I will choose the man who will marry you." Odelia's heart sank at Calix's words.
She wasn't expecting this. It was a planned sequence, wasn't it? Even as she thought so, Odelia felt helpless, as if she had been sentenced to death.
She thought she was mentally prepared, but when she actually heard it from his mouth, she realized that it wasn't like that at all.
“Odelia?”
"...Yes, I will."
Odelia answered with a pained expression, as if swallowing thorns in her mouth.
***
The Emperor died.
When the Emperor, who had been neglecting state affairs and living in the Empress's bedroom after his union with her, suddenly died, numerous rumors and speculations were rampant.
Because the Emperor was so close to his breath and medicine, there were rumors that his heart was suffering, and there were also rumors that he died on top of the Empress.
No one knew what the truth was, but everyone knew one thing.
The Emperor's seat is vacant.
The candles in the palace corridors grew brighter, and the servants' steps became more cautious.
But despite this cautiousness, the social world began to flare up. The Emperor's death became a fuse that fueled people's desires.
The reason why the saying that the throne was empty was not just a metaphor, but could actually be applied was that the succession structure was by no means simple.
While there was certainly a legal Crown Prince, Calix, he wasn't the Empress's child. His mother was the Empress, and she too perished on the day House Rubis fell.
It was only natural that the stigma of a family entangled with traitors would be passed on to her son. Calix was named heir to the throne, but he had virtually no support from his maternal family.
Rather, it was the imperial nobility that supported the crumbling imperial family.
In particular, the Duke of Devon reigned as the de facto ruler, handling state affairs on behalf of the Emperor. Even after the Emperor's death, this peculiar arrangement continued, with Calix handling half of the state affairs and the Duke of Devon handling the other half.
In that situation, ominous rumors spread.
The Empress is pregnant again.
If it were a son, Crown Prince Calix would be nothing more than a temporary substitute. It was often said that this was why the Duke of Devon was so blatantly supporting the Empress.
"Who will sit on the empty throne?"
Even though there was clearly a Crown Prince, no one stopped him from saying that.
It was a symbolic statement showing that the imperial authority had already fallen to the ground.
The story continued on and on, and the provocative tales were passed from mouth to mouth, melting into the toast.
And during the most heated social season in the empire's history, the Empress did not postpone the upcoming regular imperial banquet. Instead, she took the bold step of holding an imperial banquet in conjunction with the Emperor's funeral, instantly capturing public attention.
The situation was no different at the banquet hosted by the Duke's family. Even in the presence of Odelia, the topic of conversation was the Emperor's death and the Empress.
"Even if she conceived the Emperor's seed, when would she give birth and raise it? Then, at least for now, His Highness the Crown Prince would naturally inherit the throne."
"But did you solve it? The Empress and the Crown Prince, they've always been like that, so wasn't it planned from the beginning?"
Unreliable words flowed irresponsibly from the mouths of the nobles, and each one spread like poison.
Odelia's expression hardened as she heard that sound. She clenched her fists, her palms turning white.
At that moment, a leisurely voice was heard from somewhere.
"Oh, everyone blurts out words so easily. With open mouths, it's just like that."
When Odelia turned her head in surprise, a young man with rose-red hair came into view.
Beneath his soft, shiny hair, as if bathed in sunlight, his smiling, gently folded eyes, his high nose bridge, and his sharply defined features were in harmony.
His overall impression was as harmless and innocent as Cedric's, but he possessed a more refined air, closer to his pre-retirement years. Every time he smiled, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, revealing his canines, a charming sight that captivated everyone who saw him.
He was looking at Odelia with a deep, refined smile and a playful gleam in the corners of his eyes.
"My name is Allan Bardo."
The young man greeted her brightly, his face as lively as his red hair.
Comments
Post a Comment