Chapter 47
“My lady said she would be visiting the old estate—the house she lived in during her childhood, on the outskirts of the capital.”
That was the coachman’s answer to Lexiarth’s question.
“What business does she have there?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps she’s going to gather medicinal herbs. The last time, she harvested quite a lot from the greenhouse there.”
“I see. Very well.”
After dismissing the coachman, Lexiarth summoned a servant to call Perol. Handing him a pen, he ordered him to draw a rough map showing the location of the estate.
“Do we really have to go this far? I could just go with you and show you the way.”
As Perol grumbled and took the pen, Lexiarth immediately frowned and smacked the back of his head.
“That’s enough. Shut up and draw.”
When his rough mercenary-era tone slipped out, Perol scowled and protested.
“Ah—that hurts, Your Grace! But why do you need a map anyway?”
“There’s something that’s been bothering me.”
“What is it? Is it because the dark magic barrier was broken by Her Ladyship’s golden light?”
“Yes. That, among other things.”
Perol struggled for quite some time to draw the map. His artistic skills were abysmal, so the result was crude, but it was just barely legible.
Lexiarth tucked the clumsy map into his coat and stepped outside. When he said he was going out, a servant immediately brought him his black horse.
He felt he had to go there at least once—to the place where Eliche had spent her childhood. And he wanted to see it with his own eyes: the Third Empress’s greenhouse, where even a dark magic barrier had failed to work.
After riding for a long time, Lexiarth arrived at the estate and surveyed the surroundings, searching for any traces of dark magic.
The claim that the barrier had been broken seemed to be true—there were no signs of danger at all.
Then why, in the first place, had the Emperor placed a dark magic barrier here?
Instead of selling the house or giving it to someone else, he had chosen to completely seal it off. It was nothing short of strange.
While Lexiarth was lost in thought, Eliche’s carriage arrived.
Instinctively, he hid himself behind the estate. He didn’t want to look as though he were spying on her.
“Teruel, rest here for a while. It’ll take some time to gather all the herbs.”
Eliche said this with a smile to Teruel before entering the greenhouse.
Teruel obediently stepped back, and Eliche and Cecil soon went inside the greenhouse. They didn’t come out for quite some time.
Only then did Lexiarth reveal himself in front of Teruel.
“Oh—Your Grace.”
As Teruel hurried to his feet, Lexiarth smiled faintly and signaled for silence with a finger, then slipped quietly into the greenhouse.
Just as Perol had reported, the Third Empress’s greenhouse was remarkable. It was even larger than Eliche’s, filled with more plants, all of them uniformly healthy and thriving.
The first person he noticed was Cecil. But Cecil was so absorbed in gathering herbs that he didn’t even glance in Lexiarth’s direction.
“Hadin!”
It was then that Eliche’s voice rang out, just as Lexiarth stood near the entrance, surveying the greenhouse.
Hadin.
He recognized the name immediately—the foreign slave who was said to be her lover.
A beautiful man with silver hair and violet eyes stood beside Eliche.
So that formidable Gloom had indeed pulled him out of the imperial palace’s underground prison.
Lexiarth let out a hollow, incredulous smile at the sheer audacity of it, when Eliche looked at the slave with tears welling in her eyes.
“My Riche. I truly missed you.”
As he spoke, the slave suddenly pulled her into an embrace.
Lexiarth almost shouted without realizing it. How dare a mere slave lay hands on her?
But Eliche did not resist. She simply rested in his arms, her expression overflowing with longing.
The slave soon pressed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss into something unbearably intimate.
Startled, Lexiarth nearly drew his sword on the spot.
And they weren’t lovers?
In the end, it meant Eliche had been lying to him all along.
A violent urge to cut her down surged through Lexiarth. But his cold reason reined him in.
Even if he were to strike her down, this was neither the place nor the time.
That could wait until after he had thoroughly used her for his own ends.
Just as silently as he had entered, he left the greenhouse.
Teruel approached him, about to say something, but Lexiarth shook his head to stop him.
“Never tell the Imperial Princess that I was here.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Though Teruel looked puzzled, he soon bowed his head.
Lexiarth mounted his horse and headed straight back to the ducal estate.
An uncontrollable rage was boiling up from deep within his heart.
“Don’t do this, Hadin!”
As the unexpected kiss continued, Eliche gathered her strength and pushed him away. It was far too much for a mere greeting.
“I’m sorry, Riche. I acted without thinking.”
“I’ll let it go this time, but don’t do it again. You know I’m a married woman.”
“Yes, Riche. I’m sorry.”
When Hadin lowered his head with a dejected expression, Eliche felt a pang of guilt.
She shouldn’t have raised her voice at someone who had been locked away in such a harsh prison for three years.
“I’m so happy that you’re out here like this, Hadin. You have no idea how worried I was.”
Her voice softened as she spoke, and Hadin replied with a bright smile.
“Yes. I’m happy too—to see you again, Riche. But how did you manage to find people like that? I never imagined I could escape from such a heavily guarded prison.”
At his look of amazement, Eliche smiled and answered.
“I heard they were incredibly skilled, so I took a leap of faith and hired them. And it seems the palace security was looser than expected.”
“I see.”
“For now, stay here in this greenhouse. I’m looking into where Tulleang is, so we should be able to leave the Empire soon.”
“You’ve done so much while I was gone.”
Hadin smiled warmly and gently stroked her hair.
“You want to return to your homeland as soon as possible too, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course. But… living here with you, Riche, doesn’t sound so bad either.”
The words were completely unexpected, leaving Eliche visibly flustered.
“What? What are you talking about? You know I can’t live properly here. You’d be hunted constantly as well.”
“Please don’t worry about me. I thought a great deal while I was imprisoned—about what truly is the best path for you.”
“And what would that be?”
“You’ve spent so many years clinging to Tulleang, whose location we don’t even know. There’s no guarantee we’ll ever find it.”
“So?”
“I think it might be better to give up on searching for Tulleang. You should live your own life, Riche—build a happy family, have children.”
Eliche stared at him in bewilderment.
“You weren’t like this before, Hadin.”
“I told you—I did a lot of thinking while I was confined.”
“If we do find Tulleang… would you still say this then?”
“I don’t know. But for now, I believe this is the best choice.”
Eliche quickly grew despondent. She had never imagined he would say such things.
Along with a small sense of disappointment came an inexplicable feeling of betrayal. Tulleang meant everything to them.
Had something terrible happened to him in prison?
He looked fine on the outside, but perhaps he had endured horrific torture—or even been brainwashed by dark magic.
“For now, just rest. You’ve been through so much.”
Eliche tried to soothe her own hurt feelings with those words.
“Yes, Riche. I’m resting well.”
Hadin replied with a smile.
“I’ll come again in a few days. Take care until then.”
“Yes. You should be careful too.”
Waving to him reluctantly, Eliche turned away. If she lingered too long, Teruel might come looking for her in the greenhouse.
She divided the herbs Cecil had gathered into baskets and left the greenhouse.
As if he had been waiting, Teruel approached and took all the baskets from her.
“Did anything happen, my lady?”
Noticing her strange expression, Teruel asked casually.
“What could possibly happen in a greenhouse? Nothing happened.”
“I see. Then, well…”
Teruel looked as though he had more to say, but escorted her into the carriage without asking further.
As the carriage began to move, Eliche gazed back wistfully at the receding estate. Even after rescuing Hadin, the reality that they still couldn’t be together left a bitter ache in her chest.
“Has something happened recently?”
Calix, who was treating Eliche’s dark magic affliction, asked as though something troubled him.
“Why do you ask?”
“I feel another surge of strong dark magic.”
“No. Nothing unusual happened. There was no black smoke, and I didn’t meet the Emperor either.”
Eliche tilted her head, looking at him in confusion.
“Then perhaps the dark magic that lay dormant beneath the surface has risen to a detectable level.”
“Is that possible?”
“Yes. The seal on the suppressed dark magic may have loosened.”
As he spoke, Calix continued the treatment while holding her hand.
It felt as though something deeply embedded in her heart was being torn out, and the pain was excruciating. Yet Eliche endured it stubbornly.
Calix had offered to put her to sleep during the treatment, but she refused. She wanted to see with her own eyes what was leaving her body.
The result was an agony so intense it felt as though her heart were being ripped apart.
Soon, black smoke began to pour out from her chest, spreading like fog until it filled the entire room.
Lexiarth watched the entire process in silence. For the past few days, he had been exuding an icy air—cold, as though he had reverted to the merciless man he once was.
He no longer spoke those seductive words that used to catch her off guard. Had the effect of the aphrodisiac already worn off?
Part of her felt relieved, yet another part was worried. She didn’t want her relationship with him to grow strained.
The treatment, which had begun late at night, continued until nearly midnight.
When the black fog seeping from her chest finally thinned, Calix released her hand. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, as though the procedure had taken a great toll on him as well.
“This is as far as we can go today.”
“Yes. Thank you, Calix.”
Eliche expressed her gratitude in a weak, exhausted voice.
She felt as though all the strength had drained from her body; she doubted she could even walk.
Forcing her uncooperative body to move, she climbed down from the bed—but the moment her feet touched the floor, she swayed.
Lexiarth suddenly stepped forward and lifted her into his arms.
“Don’t push yourself. You can barely walk.”
At his warm words—spoken for the first time in a while—Eliche felt a lump rise in her throat.
Carrying her into the corridor, Lexiarth headed straight for his own room. He carefully laid her down on one side of his bed.
After extinguishing the lamp, he lay down beside her.
In the pitch-black darkness, his voice broke the silence.
“Shall we start trying for a child now?”
Startled by the unexpected words, Eliche swallowed hard.
“A child…?”
“Yes. We’ve waited long enough, haven’t we? The dark magic afflicting you is gradually being removed, so your health should be fine.”
At his gentle words, Eliche’s face stiffened without her realizing it.
In the end, it seemed Lexiarth would claim their wedding night one way or another. She had no excuses left.
“In a few days, we’ll consummate the marriage. Prepare yourself.”
He stated it bluntly and said no more. It was an overwhelmingly one-sided declaration.
Eliche couldn’t bring herself to reply. Having already fed him the aphrodisiac, it felt like something she could no longer avoid.
She lay awake for a long time before finally falling asleep at dawn.
Lexiarth, too, spent the night almost entirely awake.
Once again, black smoke had appeared.
It had been intruding for days now. Each time he scattered it with his sword, but the dark energy grew stronger with every encounter—as though the Emperor had resolved to see this through.
