Chapter 81
Sofia stared intently at the man who was her older brother, a person who did not deviate even a little from her expectations.
How could a person remain so unchanged?
She herself had changed a lot. She had moved on from the days when she only cried and blamed herself while hating others. Now she had become someone who could even hide a blade for the sake of revenge.
But her older brother still seemed to understand nothing.
“Are you asking me to help Hamilton take his own life?”
“Yes, that is correct. I heard from my information network that the Yusupov Knights will soon capture Hamilton and return. That means there is not much time left. Hamilton is an evil of society. I simply hope that Her Majesty the Empress Sofia, who was once my younger sister, will not be hurt by the death of Hamilton, who was once her friend.”
“If I am not hurt… may I take that to mean that I don’t have to lead him to take his own life?”
At Sofia’s words, the relaxed expression of Marquis Rominav stiffened for a moment.
Is she daring to refuse right now?
Seeing his face gradually harden, Sofia once again smiled with her usual gentle expression.
“Of course, I’m very grateful that you are thinking of me. However… there’s no need for me to take the risk of visiting Hamilton myself. After all, he is someone who will die anyway.”
There was nothing wrong with Sofia’s words. They were simply a little different from what Marquis Rominav had expected.
Feeling somewhat anxious, Marquis Rominav looked at her with a face kinder than his true feelings and tried to persuade her.
“Then think of it as a request from me. I have no doubt that you will listen to my words.”
“I would like to know the reason why you want it so badly.”
Marquis Rominav’s face gradually grew so cold that he could barely maintain his expression.
That girl…
It felt like she was climbing over him. He didn’t know what had given her confidence, but something born lowly had been made Empress with great effort.
It had been a long time since he felt like he was being pushed around like this. He needed to crush her so she would never try to climb over him again.
With a voice colder than before, and with the face Sofia had feared since long ago, Marquis Rominav snapped.
“It is something I want. That is the reason. So Sofia—no, Your Majesty the Empress… it would be best if you simply listen to my words.”
Even at those blunt words, Sofia did not panic. Rather, she was almost grateful that he treated her so oppressively, as if crushing her beneath him.
If only he would suffer like this without even realizing what she was thinking.
Foolish.
Truly foolish.
Only after hearing Marquis Rominav’s cold tone did Sofia pretend to be frightened.
“Ah. R-right. Very well. If Hamilton is brought to the prison here, I will try to persuade him.”
In fact, it worked out well. She also wanted Hamilton to die anyway. Hamilton knew far too much.
Starting from Marquis Rominav, to the fact that he and she had worked together to use black magic.
So he deserved to die. However… it had simply been difficult to find a proper reason to kill him.
But if things happened this way… if Hamilton revealed everything about Marquis Rominav and then died for her…
There could be no more perfect scenario than that.
A faint smile of satisfaction rose on Sofia’s face.
Unaware of that, the foolish Marquis Rominav also smiled in satisfaction at Sofia’s frightened behavior.
Recalling that scene again, Sofia hummed quietly and soon burst into loud laughter.
Ha… seeing that pitiful face that mistook me for being afraid—how could I not laugh?
After finishing her recollection, Sofia decided that she would recall this incident whenever she felt in a bad mood. So that when her foolish older brother paid for his sins with his life, she could remember that pitiful expression.
Just imagining it is delightful.
Sofia’s frivolous laughter gradually grew louder and echoed in the room for quite some time.
Seizar was enjoying the silence that had returned to his office after a long time.
Come to think of it, recently there had been Floe’s frequent visits, Asha’s sudden surprise visits at all hours, and even Haiden’s shameless home intrusion.
It feels like things have been chaotic the whole time.
Ever since Floe came to the ducal residence, his days had been continuously hectic.
And now that even the black magician had been captured, it seemed like the perfect time to rest.
Seizar wasn’t someone who particularly liked resting, but perhaps because his mind was complicated, he felt mentally tired. If the people who praised him heard this, they might ask whether he could even feel tired, but he was still human in his own way.
So there were days when he felt tired.
And that day was today.
And if he were to look for the reason he was tired, it was probably…
Knock knock—
“It’s Floe.”
It seemed to be because of the owner of that gentle and sweet voice.
“Come in.”
As soon as Seizar finished speaking, Floe opened the door and entered with a bright smile on her face.
“Were you resting?”
“I was just about to rest. What do you need?”
“…Hmm.”
Floe smiled shyly.
Her blue eyes shimmered, filled with excitement.
Seizar looked at those eyes that seemed to ripple like waves without saying anything.
Floe bit her lip and then slowly opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind. Her voice trembled slightly.
“I don’t have any particular business… I just somehow wanted to see you, Young Master.”
“…You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. I wanted to see you.”
Even though she was shy, Floe said everything she wanted to say and then looked at Seizar with a refreshed expression. The emotions in her blue eyes were clear—love and respect.
It was actually Seizar who found it difficult to face those eyes filled with such blatant emotion.
The heart that had been retreating again and again wavered.
The quiet emotion that had been blowing gently suddenly surged like a storm.
What exactly is the feeling called liking someone?
When Miss Floe said she wanted to see him, it probably didn’t simply mean that she hadn’t seen him for a long time and missed him. Even Seizar, who was ignorant about love, understood that much.
Miss Floe was saying that she liked him.
To like someone.
Those words could be light or heavy.
At those words, Seizar became speechless. Under Floe’s steady gaze, he hurriedly turned his head away.
His light green eyes trembled. His heart kept pounding.
For the first time in front of her, Seizar’s mind went blank and he forgot what he was supposed to say.
Kyaah—
Perhaps because autumn had fully arrived, the cool autumn breeze brushed against Floe as she sat on a bench in the wide park of the Yusupov ducal residence and drank alcohol.
The sight of her holding an entire bottle made it hard to believe she had once been a young lady from a fairly respectable family.
After taking a bold gulp, she even let out a refreshed sound.
Still, as Floe drank, she savored the alcohol as if the tightness in her chest had eased a little.
The slightly intoxicating liquor slid smoothly down her throat.
But the alcohol tasted especially bitter today.
Was it because her heart felt empty?
Now she could even use her holy power freely.
Yet because of a single man—the future master of this mansion—her mood had sunk terribly low.
“I just wanted to see you, Young Master.”
“You wanted to see me?”
After those words, Seizar had said nothing.
It was probably because he did not feel the same way as she did, but the tiny hope she had secretly held shattered into pieces.
She loved the man who seemed cold but was warm to his family, and whose sharp eyes sometimes softened.
She loved the man who would never lose to anyone when it came to the sword.
There was no reason not to love him.
Floe was honest. Just like the Diante family had been in the past.
Looking up at the sky, she thought of her father who had already become a star.
Come to think of it, she resembled her father a lot. Although in the end he collapsed miserably under people’s scorn, he had once been an excellent scholar.
Moreover, like the current Yusupov ducal family, he had been a straightforward scholar who could not tolerate injustice.
Even now, she still did not know why her father—who had been so honest and upright—had touched drugs. That too was a question left for her to solve.
If it becomes known that I have holy power, I will soon have to leave the Yusupov ducal family.
She knew well that if the world learned that fact, it would not leave her alone.
Especially the imperial family—they would use her holy power however they could.
Floe took another drink.
She also knew well that her relationship with the Young Master would not be easy.
The Yusupov ducal family was not a house she could dare to reach for.
And if it was the Young Master of the Yusupov family, he could marry someone from a much better family.
Still, as the Young Lady said, I should try as far as I can so that I won’t regret it.
If she did her best—if she burned with these last remaining feelings until they disappeared—then she wouldn’t regret it.
Floe comforted herself. Then she stood up abruptly, holding the bottle.
For some reason, she felt she couldn’t retreat like this.
She had to make it clear whether Young Master Seizar was simply not honest about his feelings, or whether he truly did not like her.
“Just wait and see!”
It seemed that the claim that Floe’s once-quiet personality had been becoming more like Asha’s ever since coming to the ducal family was not wrong after all.
