ISTTIOMB 65

#65. Love Triangle

Nikolai reached the Canary chamber.

He had an instinct that something was terribly wrong.

All the soldiers and knights were collapsed.

They weren’t dead or injured.

Empty liquor bottles, jerky, biscuits were strewn across the floor.

A lock dangled loosely, its hasp unfastened.

His heart sank.

“Elisabeth?”

He rushed into the room.

She was nowhere to be found.

Her dazzling smile was gone.

Her pouty, scolding lips were gone.

The cherry-blossom scent that always drove Nikolai mad — all of it had vanished without a trace.

‘Has she left…?’

The floor seemed to drop away beneath him.

He couldn’t breathe in or out.

His balled fists trembled.

‘Would she go so far as to escape me like this?’

Uncontrolled killing intent flashed in Nikolai’s teal eyes.

Grief swept through him.

A dizzy, hollow feeling hit him at the reality of being abandoned.

Sensing the emperor’s fury, the captain of the knights kicked his men with his boots.

“You bastards! Can’t you get up properly?”

The dazed knights and soldiers blinked awake.

Nikolai glared at their bewildered faces and spoke in a flat, icy tone.

“Explain what happened.”

They snapped upright like they’d been struck.

Whatever drunkenness they’d had evaporated at the fierce aura radiating from Nikolai.

“We’re sorry, Your Majesty! Spare our lives!”

“Where is Elisabeth?”

“Isn’t she inside? My—oh!”

The color drained from their faces.

The captain shook his head.

It seemed to mean they were finished—no hope for them now.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, one by one the knights began to offer excuses.

“Lady Elisabeth requested drink. She gave us a pile of gold coins and told us to buy the finest spirits of each kind.”

“We had the servants fetch twenty bottles of the best liquor. The bottles weren’t supposed to go through the serving hatch, so we briefly unlocked it.”

“When she tasted them, she ordered them all to be poured out. She said they tasted awful. We felt it was a waste to throw away expensive liquor, so she told us to drink it ourselves…”

The captain, unable to contain his anger, raised his voice.

“You drank while on duty?! You must be courting death!”

“We don’t know why we drank either.”

“Cut the crap. Are you going to shift the blame until the end?”

The pale-faced knights answered nervously, watching Nikolai’s reaction.

“We apologize, but Lady Elisabeth said she would take care of the aftermath herself.”

“She said that if anything went wrong, to tell Your Majesty that we were only fooled. Please kill us, Your Majesty!”

It had been Elisabeth’s scheme from start to finish.

She had even made careless Karesma her ally.

Her alluring scent had toppled Nikolai as well.

Seduction of the knights was child’s play for her.

“Your Majesty. Lady Elisabeth left a letter!”

Nikolai ground his teeth.

If he didn’t, the repressed groan might escape him.

—Your Majesty.

I alone planned everything from beginning to end.

The maids, the guards, the soldiers, the servants, the liquor merchants — they were all used by me.

Punish me.

Please forgive the innocent ones.

You will likely find it hard to understand why I must depart like this.

There is something that must be handled outside. I have to do it with my own hands.

I’ll explain everything later. If Your Majesty gives me the chance.

If word spreads that I fled, I will be seen as a true criminal.

They’ll think I ran away because my guilt was exposed.

Please let them believe they have won.

Only then can I secure an opportunity to strike back.

I trust Your Majesty to handle this well.

Please don’t let this escape be in vain.

It feels odd to say this while running away…

The palace guard is horribly lax. Replace the captain of the knights and reorganize the guard system.

Especially the Crown Prince’s quarters.

Lastly, send my regards to Franz. Tell him to stay healthy until I return.

He will miss me. Perhaps very much.

—Elisabeth

Elisabeth walked through the dark forest and looked back toward the palace.

The moon hanging above the spire looked unusually pale tonight.

Nikolai’s handsome face must be even paler than that.

‘Did he read the letter? He must have been shocked. Maybe he won’t forgive me. Forever…’

The ground under her feet was pitch black.

Her future looked the same.

Her enemy was tenacious and strong.

A chill suddenly ran through her.

Douglas draped a thick shawl over her shoulders.

“Elisabeth. Are you all right?”

“And how are you, Douglas? Helping a fugitive is a grave crime.”

“I’m just taking a walk with a friend.”

“His Majesty will interrogate you fiercely.”

“I’m actually grateful.”

“Pardon?”

“Thanks to His Majesty, I can help Elisabeth.”

Douglas smiled.

It was gentle like moonlight, but contained a power that chased away darkness.

He lingered by her like the moon orbiting the earth.

He didn’t come too close.

He also didn’t drift too far.

He kept a proper distance and waited for her to reach out.

She barely had the nerve to meet his gaze.

“Sorry for only reaching out in hard times.”

“Thank you for thinking of me in difficult times.”

“I’ve been taking advantage of your kindness, Douglas.”

“Would it be foolish to say I’m grateful to be used?”

Douglas tilted his head.

At his innocent, pure expression, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes. It would be truly foolish.”

“That’s what people say sometimes.”

“You look happy.”

“Tonight the moon is bright and the air clear. It’s a pleasure to walk with Elisabeth on such a fine night.”

“It’s nice to enjoy it for a moment. The pursuit party might already be after us tomorrow.”

Elisabeth elbowed Douglas in the ribs.

Douglas’s gaze flared for a moment.

Like a boy wanting to leap from the moon’s shadow toward the sun.

“While we’re running, we’ll be together, right?”

“Douglas.”

“You may be my fiancée, my friend — I don’t care. You could be nothing at all. That would be fine too.”

“……”

“Let’s run as far as possible. Together.”

Douglas gently took her hand.

He handled it as if with the utmost care, like a small child.

She felt a hesitant fear in him too.

But it was warm.

So warm that for a moment she could think of nothing else.

The reason she couldn’t pull her hand away from Douglas was, paradoxically, because of Nikolai.

‘Nikolai’s hand was much thicker and rougher. He often gripped so hard it hurt.’

Even now she found herself thinking of Nikolai.

She tasted the memory of his hand, his warmth, his scent.

Even knowing that it would wound both men, her heart kept tilting.

She used Douglas when she needed him.

Douglas helped her wordlessly.

Nikolai swallowed the anger rising in his chest for the sake of her empty place.

How had the three of them ended up like this?

What if she gave up on Nikolai?

If she took Douglas’s offered hand?

Would everything fall neatly into place?

Why wouldn’t her heart do as she wanted?

What is a crush?

What is love?

Why do we turn away from the straight road and choose the rough path?

“Is it because of His Majesty?”

Douglas’s smile remained on his lips.

That made the loneliness in it stand out all the more.

Her conscience wasn’t what was pierced — it was her heart.

A strange warmth spread in her chest.

Even though she knew she shouldn’t.

“Elisabeth Emster will be branded a villain. His Majesty will be hailed as a righteous emperor who doesn’t even forgive his lover.”

“I escaped because I was frustrated. I wanted to catch those who slandered me myself.”

“Not to protect His Majesty?”

“You overrate me, Douglas. It’s embarrassing.”

“Elisabeth has many secrets, doesn’t she? It’s pitiable.”

At the word “secrets,” she snapped her head up.

Douglas’s brown eyes were still deep and gentle.

She didn’t miss the unfamiliar heat contained in them.

‘Has he noticed something? He’s the one who knows the original Elisabeth best. Claudia might have told him my story.’

Douglas had been the first to accept her simply as “Elisabeth.”

He had supported her with steady affection.

Sometimes that had been annoying and awkward.

But without him, adapting to this world would have taken her many times more effort and time.

The thought that Douglas might suspect her made her feel pitiable.

This was selfish of her, no doubt.

Douglas spoke to the downward cast of her eyes.

“But I like Elisabeth’s secrets.”

“Douglas?”

“I don’t care what secrets you have. Elisabeth is Elisabeth.”

A hot wetness rose to her eyes.

A hot breath climbed up her throat.

Did he know the knot in her chest she couldn’t tell anyone, the one that made her hurt all the more?

In that moment she wanted to lean into his arms.

‘I wanted to meet a man who would understand and cherish all of me. I wanted to spend my life with such a man. Douglas is the man I dreamed of — so why do I ache so desperately for Nikolai?’

A man who didn’t know he was arrogant.

A man whose actions she couldn’t predict.

A man who always made her anxious.

A man who hurt her.

Why did she feel she couldn’t live without him?

She felt foolish, and the thought made her heart ache.

“Let’s go. The pursuit party might already be on the move.”

She pushed Douglas away once more.

He already understood.

If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be wearing that fragile, dangerous smile.

“Don’t worry, Elisabeth. By now he’s probably started moving too.”