Episode 56
‘Ugh, should I not have hugged him? Instead of feeling comfortable, this is just awkward…’
The forest’s ambient sounds abruptly vanished, and silence fell like a blanket.
Raphael’s firm throat bobbed, and beneath his half-lowered, thick lashes, his deep blue eyes — like the night sea — became languidly unfocused.
At some point, her hand, now gripping his vest, began to tighten. His sharp nose, touched by moonlight, gradually drew closer.
Boom—!
A brilliant firework exploded above them, and light returned to Raphael’s hazy eyes. The pale moonlight gave way to a sky painted with countless colors.
Startled, her grip on his clothes loosened.
“…It’s started,” she murmured.
“They could’ve started slower,” Raphael mumbled regretfully, as if responding to her whisper.
‘Oh god…’
Louisa slowly averted her gaze. She awkwardly touched her forehead with her free hand, trying to cover her face.
‘What the hell just happened?’
With a sigh, she squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t meant to stand there frozen, like someone entranced.
She had thought that there was no way the mood between them would ever get like that. And yet, the very thing she thought impossible had actually happened.
‘I really need to avoid secluded places from now on. Nothing else seems to matter in the moment, and I keep getting swept up in things…’
As Louisa grumbled internally, she noticed her hair rustling. When she moved her hand, the view shifted along with Raphael’s quiet steps as he climbed the mountain.
‘Okay, but like — this ride is insane. How is it so smooth?’
Her earlier frustrations were soon forgotten, thanks to the astonishing speed.
Boom, boom—. The fireworks briefly paused, letting the rustle of the brush reach her ears, before vibrant explosions resumed from every direction.
Before long, he had already reached the summit.
Raphael gradually slowed and came to a stop. Louisa’s gaze followed his, directed straight ahead.
What had been only visible from the sky earlier now bloomed across her full field of vision — a breathtaking cascade of lights like stars strewn across the entire world.
“Wow…”
Though the mountain air was cold, their shared body heat kept her warm. Or maybe she just didn’t notice the chill — the spectacle stole all her attention.
She had never, in her whole life, seen a sight like this.
It was warm, radiant, and she wasn’t alone. Words that had never belonged to her suddenly filled this night. A soft smile curled Louisa’s lips.
Boom—. Another firework bloomed.
She was glad to be alive.
The fireworks had been unexpectedly enjoyable. A lot had happened, sure — but maybe because it ended on such a good note, the whole experience felt a little romanticized in her memory.
Though, on the way back down, the silence had been suffocating enough that she had forced herself to start a conversation — which had been exhausting.
‘Before, I never used to care whether things were quiet or not…’
Louisa rolled around in bed before collapsing onto her stomach and propping her chin up with her hand. After the outing, she’d been holed up in her room for days — the fatigue had melted away, and her skin now felt taut and glowing beneath her fingertips.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder if Bella’s already left for the East.’
Even though it had seemed like meaningless small talk on the way down the mountain, it turned out to be a surprisingly useful conversation in hindsight.
The topic had come up when she thought of the demons. Since the North’s situation was already familiar, she’d casually asked if the East was doing okay.
“Actually, the East just sent another request for support.”
“Again? Is it still not under control like the North?”
“In some ways, it’s more manageable than the North. There’s less exposure to demonic creatures. However, unlike the North, which has strong military forces, the East is weak in terms of combat. So it’ll likely remain in a state of emergency.”
“Ah… so you’re heading East soon?”
“The real issue isn’t the demons themselves, but the sanctification areas corrupted by dark energy. So only the Saintess and a few knight escorts will go — once preparations are complete.”
So when she was whining about being taken far away, it must have been about the East.
Since it involved the Saintess, it was a bit surprising that Raphael shared the information so easily. She had worried it might be classified and hadn’t asked more, but it had been an interesting tidbit.
If Bella was going, maybe the East would stabilize soon. It was unexpected that Raphael wouldn’t be going, but if it was just about purification, other personnel could handle it.
But there was one lingering question. In the original story, even after Bella went, demonic energy still managed to infiltrate the Empire, creating a worst-case scenario.
If the Empire, the central region, was breached, that meant the surrounding areas had already fallen — meaning the prior purifications hadn’t been thorough. Maybe Bella’s purification ability was weaker than expected?
‘Well, maybe she’s just the type of protagonist who grows over time. From what I’ve seen, she does need to level up a bit…’
Louisa turned over and lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling.
At any rate, that was now the job of this world’s protagonists. Her own task was to bide her time, appear healthy, and ease the Blake family’s worries.
“…But when are we heading back to the North? Isn’t it about time?”
The Duke of Blake had already returned to guard the northern border, so Damian would likely want to go back soon, too.
As Louisa pondered whether to bring it up during their meal later, she suddenly remembered — Raphael had said he’d be visiting today.
She had worried he might show up the day after the festival without rest, but he’d waited a few days and only now sent word that he’d be coming.
‘Well, considering everyone’s busy discussing the East, I guess he hasn’t had much free time to swing by here.’
Louisa blinked slowly, then sat up. Though she’d already washed, she was still in loungewear — time to change.
Just as she thought that, a knock echoed through her room.
“Excuse me.”
“Hmm? What’s in your hand — letters?”
Louisa’s gaze fell to the maid Mary’s hand, where she held two sealed envelopes.
“Yes! One’s from Countess Dallio, and the other is from the First Prince. Both marked as urgent.”
“Urgent?”
Louisa took one in each hand, frowning.
“Here’s the paper knife.”
“Thanks.”
Once Mary left, Louisa looked down at the letters.
Which one should she read first?
Normally, she would’ve opened Countess Dallio’s right away, but for some reason, she hesitated. It would only delay her by a few seconds, yet—
‘…Why am I like this?’
Louisa stared hard at the letter from Raphael, then placed the other on the table.
She told herself she only picked his because he was supposed to visit today — maybe something urgent had happened.
The letter was simple: a brief greeting and an apology.
He wouldn’t be able to visit today due to unforeseen circumstances.
Louisa stared at the sentence for a long time, then gently set the letter on the table.
‘Well, that’s good. Saves me the trouble of changing.’
She slowly closed and opened her eyes. Then, after a pause, she picked up the letter from Countess Dallio.
Despite being marked urgent, it was unusually short. The Countess typically wrote in an elegant, detailed style with plenty of polite pleasantries — this was uncharacteristic.
‘…What?’
Her confusion disappeared the moment she read the contents.
“There are rumors circulating in high society that Lady Louisa is terminally ill. The source seems to be traced back to the Floria Palace.”
Floria Palace…
“That’s the Empress’s residence.”
A sigh-laced whisper escaped her lips. The rumors originated from the Empress — the villainess of this world.
Could that really be a coincidence?
A bitter chuckle escaped her before she could stop it. Of course it wasn’t a coincidence. From the Empress’s point of view, Louisa and Raphael were never supposed to end up together.
She probably assumed the engagement would be short-lived since Raphael disliked Louisa — but now, seeing them frequently together, she must be growing anxious.
What if they ended up marrying, and Raphael secured both the North and the Temple as backing? It would strengthen his position as Crown Prince significantly — and that would make the Empress very nervous.
‘Guess it’s time to make my move too.’
Louisa’s gaze drifted back to the letter on the table — Raphael’s handwriting stood out.
“…So this is why he canceled today.”
This rumor was the perfect excuse to bring up breaking off the engagement at the palace. No doubt it pleased them.
A subtle shadow passed over Louisa’s usually calm violet eyes.
“Did you hear? The rumor?”
“What rumor?”
Two women walked lightly down the corridor after a solemn prayer session. Their whispers, lowered as if wary of passersby, were anything but weighty.
“They say Lady Blake is sick.”
“Oh my! What kind of illness? She seemed fine during the Saint’s ceremony.”
“She must’ve already been sick back then.”
“And how do you know that?”
Glancing around, the first woman leaned close and whispered into the other’s ear.
“…They say it’s terminal.”
Whack— Suddenly, a hand grabbed the speaker’s shoulder.
“Eek! What the—? S-Saint?!”
“Is it true?”
Bella gripped the woman’s arm tightly, her eyes wide as saucers.
She had been following them out of curiosity after hearing Louisa’s name — the woman hadn’t noticed at all, and now her heart pounded in her chest.
