[CHAPTER 87]
If a person’s face could be compared to a door, then Elpenlira’s right now was a massive stone gate.
The door slammed shut with a bang, and the bolt was drawn in an instant.
Dianu Ortensa hurriedly covered her mouth, but the water had already been spilled.
When she first encountered Elpenlira at the hunting grounds, she had worn exactly this expression.
It was a face Dianu Ortensa had believed she would never have to confront again.
Elpenlira spoke in a low, sunken voice.
“That’s right. I am a princess.”
“Except for my elder brother, everyone in this country is beneath my feet.”
“……”
“So, do you think everything would have been easier if you had been born a princess too, Teacher?”
Her coldly honed gaze was fixed on Dianu Ortensa.
Dianu Ortensa felt as though her insides were being turned upside down by confusion and guilt.
“Lady Elpenlira, I’m sorry.”
“I just……”
She hurriedly tried to piece together an apology, but Elpenlira already seemed unwilling to listen.
Clenching both hands tightly, she spoke as though vomiting out emotions she had suppressed for a very long time.
“My love wasn’t easy either!”
“Do you think I enjoyed disappointing my brother?”
“……”
“But I, and Edric Loisen, were prepared to give up everything.”
“Because even if that was the price, we wanted to stay together forever.”
A voice tangled with sorrow and anger pierced straight into Dianu Ortensa’s heart.
“Then what about you, Teacher?”
The corners of Elpenlira’s eyes reddened.
She spoke in a small voice that did not suit her at all.
“…At the very least, your brother is still alive.”
“……”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t let go, no matter what I had to do.”
That was the end of it.
Before Dianu Ortensa could respond, Elpenlira sharply turned her body and left the room.
The door slammed shut behind her with a loud bang.
Perhaps that was for the best.
She no longer knew what she was supposed to say.
Dianu Ortensa slowly sank down onto the floor.
Resting her arms on a chair and burying her face into them, she finally let out the sobs she had been holding back.
The secretariat in the east wing of the Imperial Palace was quiet.
Aside from the sound of papers being turned and the low voices exchanged by the few people invited into the office, it was an astonishingly calm work environment.
Even knowing that all of it was because of him, Rision pretended not to notice.
Others watching his mood was as familiar to him as breathing, and for once, the silence was welcome.
“Um… Your Majesty.”
Obina Contar stepping forward cautiously was likely the result of Neyron Berdian’s not-quite-a-request request.
Rision silently looked up at the assistant to the chief secretary.
Meeting his gaze, Obina Contar lowered her head, visibly at a loss.
“It seems like I might be in the way while Secretary Verdian and Mr. Galedo are discussing things.”
“I was wondering if it might be better for me to move to the next room…”
Neyron Berdian and the newly recruited lawyer from the Erbinjel ducal house, Anteo Galedo, glanced over at her from a distance.
Obina Contar occupied a delicate and highly unusual position here.
She reviewed all of the secretariat’s materials and carried out the calculations Neyron Berdian required, yet she did not know what it was she was actually seeing.
That was because of the unknown “illness” she had been born with.
Even back when Dianu Ortensa worked in the secretariat, Obina Contar often had to leave her seat.
Names like the Belua Duke, Bertona Aldebaron, or Ambassador Nixandor could not be allowed to reach her ears.
But now, with preparations for the Grand Trial underway, it was inefficient for her to move between rooms whenever necessary.
‘If we can shorten the trial preparation period, wouldn’t a little risk be worth taking?’
It felt as though Dianu Ortensa’s voice echoed beside his ear.
Rision gazed quietly at the young lady who must have gathered all her courage just to speak to him, then abruptly asked.
“Miss Contar, are you Miss Ortensa’s genuine friend?”
“Pardon?”
Obina Contar blinked for a long moment as though she did not understand the question, then hurriedly answered just as Rision’s expression grew impatient.
“Yes!”
“She’s a very precious friend to me.”
She hesitated, then continued awkwardly.
“Since we entered Sirene Girls’ Academy, Dianu Ortensa was the only one who was kind to me.”
“She never treated me like a fool just because I couldn’t read.”
“……”
“…So I treasure her very much.”
“I don’t know how Dianu Ortensa feels, but……”
Rision had to swallow a hollow laugh.
Dianu Ortensa had entered Sirene Girls’ Academy at the age of eight.
From that time on, she had been building absolute allies of her own.
She erased emotional debts and received loyalty in return.
Though she had never been educated as a ruler, Dianu Ortensa knew very well how to make people take her side.
The Erbinjel Grand Duchess and Count, even Grand Duke Erin, treated her like family.
Neyron Berdian and Roysen would chew bricks if she asked them to.
Not to mention the reverence she received from the maids of Oak Palace.
‘And Elpenlira goes without saying.’
Even Ravelan Arasas held her in high regard.
Enough to stir a hint of jealousy.
Wherever Dianu Ortensa had stayed, deep affection and trust were left behind without exception.
Had she been born a prince, she might have become a sage ruler no less capable than Rision himself.
Rision could not fully understand the psychological restraints imposed by her birth status.
But he could make a careful, affectionate guess.
Dianu Ortensa had likely spent her entire life lowering herself.
Unable to expect more, she may have found it easier to accept external limitations deep in her heart.
That was why, even when an opportunity was given, it was only natural that she could not immediately cast off that familiar and comfortable restraint.
‘If she were to wear the crown of Empress, it would surely be a great fortune for Catalos as well.’
Even setting aside personal feelings, Rision believed she was excellent empress material.
With time, that conviction only grew stronger.
Rision made his decision.
If Dianu Ortensa, who had watched over Obina Contar for half her life, trusted her, then Rision had no reason to doubt her.
“The people gathered here are currently preparing for the Grand Trial.”
At the words spoken without warning, Obina Contar sucked in a sharp breath.
Behind her, Neyron Berdian and Anteo Galedo looked horrified.
Rision continued without concern.
“Miss Contar will assist with the trial preparations going forward.”
“Neyron will provide the information necessary for the work, so please ensure nothing is leaked externally.”
Obina Contar blinked repeatedly for a long moment, then lowered her gaze to the documents Rision had been reviewing before speaking in a trembling voice.
“I… I won’t disappoint you.”
As Obina Contar hurriedly retreated, Rision added casually from behind her.
“And when you have time, would you stop by Oak Palace?”
He could easily imagine what Dianu Ortensa must be feeling right now.
If she had a friend to confide in, perhaps it would ease her pain, even slightly.
He wanted to see her.
But he had to endure it.
Some decisions had to be made on one’s own, without external pressure.
‘That said, I have no intention of doing nothing.’
Rision focused on the letters that stubbornly refused to enter his vision.
There was no time to waste.
* * *
“Lady Dianu……”
“……”
“Please try to eat just a little.”
“Alright?”
Dianu Ortensa slowly shook her head.
Cora, who had held the soup bowl and spoon right up to her face like she was coaxing a fussy baby, failed to hide her flustered expression.
“You haven’t eaten anything all day……”
At her worried face, Dianu Ortensa managed her first smile since Elpenlira had left.
“People don’t die just because they skip eating for a day.”
“You have days like that too, don’t you?”
“Are you really the same as me, Lady Dianu?”
“What’s so different?”
Cora probably wanted to say that unlike herself, who could skip meals without issue, Dianu Ortensa was a delicate lady.
From Dianu Ortensa’s perspective, the thought was almost laughable.
Suppressing the nausea churning inside her, she pulled the blanket up to the tip of her nose.
“I’m fine without dinner.”
“I just want to sleep a little more.”
“You’ve already been sleeping all day……”
“I know.”
“I’m just tired today.”
Cora hesitated, then sighed when Dianu Ortensa showed no sign of changing her mind.
The clattering sound of soup and bread being gathered back onto the tray grated on her ears.
Once the bedroom door closed, Dianu Ortensa was finally alone.
And when one is alone, thoughts multiply.
For Dianu Ortensa, they were the least welcome kind of guests.
She knew better than anyone that sleep was nothing more than an escape.
But if she did not do this much, she could not endure it.
Rision, Elpenlira, the position of Empress……
She just wanted to forget everything.
If possible, forever.
‘I miss you, Mom……’
For the first time in a very long while, she yearned for the embrace of someone whose face had grown faint even in her memories.
Curling her body tightly, Dianu Ortensa forced herself to sleep.
