CFCF 131

Episode 131

I rose immediately so he wouldn’t waste his strength repeating the same pleasantry unnecessarily.

Then I thanked him for waking up, for granting my unreasonable request. I apologized repeatedly, saying that at the time, my only thought was to protect the baby, and I hadn’t considered the price he would have to pay.

Moghold gave a faint smile.

“If I save the lives of my nephew and my little sister, perhaps His Majesty might even consider forgiving this old man…….”

With tears in my eyes, I pressed my cheek against the back of Moghold’s hand.

“Thank you so much. You saved me, my brother, and my baby, who almost never saw the light of the world. Talk of forgiveness is utterly misplaced. I’m sure my brother feels the same…….”

He spoke again in a voice as faint as a breeze.

“Then, please return to His Majesty now and beg for this old man’s life, Your Highness.”

Choked up, I looked at Ren.

Moghold must have heard about my marriage from his disciple and was intentionally trying to send me back.

“But……”

However, even Len, who I thought would side with me, shook his head firmly.

“It only makes things difficult for me if you stay here too long. Do you even know that Erni, who has nothing to do with it, is single-handedly managing the wedding celebration at the Imperial Palace as if she’s taking the fall?”

“……She was?”

Since Callisteon had only told me about Zenais, omitting Ernst’s name, I hadn’t been concerned about whether she was having a hard time or not.

From the perspective of someone who had lived as Ryu Ji for over twenty years in South Korea and returned, I still had a great deal of debt to repay Zenais.

‘I’m not that clueless Louise anymore.’

Her loss of standing in the Imperial Palace was just the karma from Empress Victoria’s time and had nothing to do with settling my personal debts. The union with a prestigious Marquis was Empress Victoria’s long-cherished desire and beneficial to Zenais, meaning she had paid no price for tormenting me alongside Cyril all her life.

Moghold squeezed out his remaining energy to add one more thing.

“If it’s alright, might this old man be granted the opportunity to pay his respects to the young lady someday?”

I replied, my voice thick with emotion.

“Her name is Prilis. Prilis Narses Nia Babenberg.”

Narses Moghold.

That was the name of the old mage lying before me.

Callisteon had been slightly taken aback when I said I wanted to give the former Tower Master’s name to Prilis, but when I promised to explain later, he quietly nodded.

“That is truly an honor for my family…….”

Moghold’s eyes grew moist.

“I wish to recover quickly and meet the young lady. But Your Highness, my heart is uneasy with you here. Please, return now and attend to your duties.”

I finally nodded to him.

“You must get better. You absolutely must.”

Len reassured me.

“Don’t worry, Rue. I’ll make sure of it.”

If he said so, then it must be true.

I looked up at the most capable mage in the world with hopeful eyes.

Ren said quietly,

“So Rue, it’s time for you to return to the Imperial Palace.”

Instead of Ren, who absolutely couldn’t leave his post again, two senior mages were assigned to escort me back to the Imperial Palace.

It was different from the journey from Edessa.

There was an official gate from the Magic Tower to the Imperial Palace; one only needed to walk through it—a result of Ren’s special efforts.

“Louise.”

That same evening, Len came to see me.

Seeing his face, it seemed he had something left to say, so I prepared myself.

Now that Moghold was awake, Ren might tell me he never wanted to see me again.

But whatever he said, I had to accept it.

It was the consequence of my choice.

“Yes, Ren.”

But it seemed I couldn’t hide my frightened expression.

Ren looked at my face and chuckled softly, then calmly sat down in front of the tea table.

“Why do you look so terrified? It seems there’s something you don’t know, so I thought I should tell you, even if it’s late.”

What came out of Ren’s mouth next was something I had never even imagined.

“……Chirilla used a magic potion? On you? She admitted it herself?”

Ren shrugged.

“Surprisingly, she said it with her own mouth. If she hadn’t, how else would she know something even I was unaware of?”

I was stunned, my mouth hanging open at the shocking reality.

It was true that Cyril had tormented and oppressed me all my life.

But her schemes were always transparent, so I never imagined she had engaged in such vile behind-the-scenes manipulation.

‘And on the Tower Master, no less?’

If Ren had discovered this at the time and made an issue of it, it could have ended the relationship between the Magic Tower and the Imperial family.

‘Was Chirilla already insane back then?’

Just trying to harm her half-sister’s baby was proof she wasn’t sane, but I thought she might have acted极端ly because she was cornered…… Apparently not.

I suddenly paused and looked up at Ren.

“By any chance… Ernst too?”

Ren let out a small sigh and nodded.

“I never asked him directly, but probably, yes.”

“Why on earth? What does Cyril gain from that?”

He looked at my bewildered face, chuckled, and answered.

“Scandal, perhaps?”

“What?”

“It seems what Chirilla wanted was a scandal involving you. Probably hoping the Grand Duke would be disappointed in you.”

“……So she drugged me too?”

Ren nodded again.

“Luckily, you didn’t take it.”

I thought back to events at the academy.

I remember the day Ernst suddenly kept nodding off during our conversation.

It was the day I realized I was pregnant, was at a loss for what to do, and went to seek his help.

‘I couldn’t drink wine because of the baby then.’

It was the same the day Ren fell asleep in my room.

I had far too little information about pregnancy, and at the time, I had completely abstained from all kinds of tea, focused entirely on protecting the baby in my womb.

In the end, it was Frilis who had protected me from that terrible magic potion.

I looked at Ren with newfound eyes.

“Ren. Even so, you… her…….”

At that moment, I almost asked him why he had let her live, even after all that.

Of course, I barely swallowed the words, but Ren understood me perfectly.

“I let her live. Because she tried to harm your child, I didn’t think delivering judgment was my place. And……”

The slight smile that had lingered on Ren’s lips faded, and he whispered softly, as if sharing a secret.

“To be honest, I think… this past year, I was happier than ever before.”

I looked up at Ren in surprise.

The Ren I knew was a man who would have turned the woman who drugged him to ashes long ago, rooted out all involved, and buried them somewhere without a second thought. It would be more like him to decry the Imperial family en masse for insulting the Tower’s authority and sever all ties.

But Ren quietly took my hand.