Chapter 25
After her clash with Rashid, Azelina hadn’t seen him again. A few days later, she heard that he had left for the Zeppelin Empire together with his vassals.
She had even lost interest in embroidery, and the lonely life in the imperial palace felt dull and unbearably boring.
Feeling lethargic since morning, Azelina seized the moment when the palace guards were смена (changing shifts) and slipped out to the plaza with Iana.
With so many people in the streets, her ornate attire didn’t draw much attention.
Scaentia, the capital of the Igréta Empire, was bustling to begin with, and with the weather being pleasant today, crowds of people were coming and going.
It was just after she and Iana had finished drinking tea at a tea house and stepped outside.
In one corner of the plaza, a crowd gathered around something—enough to catch Azelina’s eye.
Curious about what had drawn so much attention, Azelina took Iana’s hand and headed over.
At the center of a large notice board was a freshly posted, spotless announcement.
It was a notice announcing the Red Moon Festival.
Every year around this time, a round, crimson full moon would rise, and the Empire held a grand festival to coincide with it.
On the day the red moon appeared, the entire world was dyed crimson. Red jewels shimmered atop the water’s surface, and brilliant flames seemed to blaze in the center of every imperial citizen’s eyes.
Though it was a sight she saw every year, it never lost its wonder. Even before her regression, Azelina would often gaze at the red moon beyond her window.
She still vividly remembered how a gentle breeze would brush against her face each time.
She resolved to attend the Red Moon Festival with Iana later and was just about to move on when—
“Ah…!”
In the distance, she spotted guards looking around as if searching for the Empress.
If she had stayed in the Selina Palace, she probably wouldn’t have been discovered so quickly. It seemed the Emperor’s Palace attendants had sensed something amiss and alerted the guards.
Azelina grabbed Iana’s hand and ran. It felt far too regretful to head back just yet.
She blended into the crowd surrounding the fountain.
‘…Do I know him? Why is he staring at me like that?’
As she pushed through the people, her gaze caught on a man watching her from inside an alley.
He was wearing a jet-black uniform, and his features were strikingly handsome.
Once the guards finally disappeared from her sight, Azelina turned her head back toward where the man had been.
But in that brief moment, he had vanished.
No—more importantly…
“…”
Iana. Iana was gone too. Just moments ago, she had been holding Iana’s hand tightly.
“Iana!”
Panicking, Azelina turned this way and that, searching for her.
Before she realized it, she had wandered deep into a deserted alley.
Compared to the lively plaza, the alley was dark and silent, eerie enough to feel as though a ghost might appear at any moment. Swallowing nervously, Azelina focused on searching for Iana.
Thinking Iana probably wasn’t in the alley, she was about to give up and turn back when—
“Ah…”
It was that man from before.
Azelina didn’t know who he was, nor could he possibly know that she was the Empress.
Yet the way he stared at her with a strange smile made her uneasy and suspicious.
‘…I don’t know.’
Azelina approached him.
Even if the man seemed suspicious, finding Iana came first.
“E-excuse me. By any chance, have you seen a lady about my height? She was wearing a neat teal dress. At first glance her face might seem plain, but she’s beautiful.”
As she drew closer, the man’s face came clearly into view.
His grape-like violet eyes were exactly as she had seen before, and his thick black hair added to the gloomy atmosphere around him.
“Hm.”
After stroking his chin and pondering briefly, the man replied,
“I believe I have seen her.”
“Where did you see her?” Azelina asked eagerly.
“Wasn’t she right beside you until just a moment ago?”
“……”
The completely unexpected answer left Azelina speechless. She stared at him in disbelief.
The man grinned and casually added,
“If you’re that worried, wouldn’t it be better to go outside and look for her yourself?”
“There are circumstances. Someone is looking for me, and… anyway, it’s not a good idea for me to move around recklessly right now.”
After replying curtly, Azelina turned her head away.
His manner of speaking was far too slick, and she felt there was nothing to gain by continuing the conversation.
With a faint smile, the man suddenly pulled something from his pocket and handed it to her. At a glance, it looked like an ordinary brooch.
“What is this?”
Azelina tried to return it, puzzled, but the man didn’t take it back and instead smiled slyly.
“It’s a magic tool that changes one’s appearance. I run a fairly large merchant guild in another country, so I have quite a few of these.”
A magic tool that altered appearance.
Azelina was taken aback.
Magic tools were extremely valuable items.
Even in her childhood, she had only seen magic tools a few times. They were so precious that even the ducal estate rarely possessed them.
Since Azelina had never met this man before, there was no reason for him to casually place such a valuable magic tool in her hands.
Flustered and unsure of what to do, Azelina suddenly noticed her own hair had turned red.
Startled, she widened her eyes at the man, then belatedly composed herself.
“…To be honest, I didn’t believe you at first. But if you can give a magic tool to someone you’ve just met, your merchant guild must be quite large and wealthy.”
Once Azelina finally accepted his words, the man chuckled.
“No matter how your appearance has changed, it’s dangerous for a lady to walk alone. I’ll accompany you.”
“You know, you’re suspicious to me too,” Azelina snapped.
Though she brushed him off coldly, the man paid it no mind and stayed by her side.
In the end, Azelina decided to let him accompany her.
As they returned to the plaza and looked around for Iana, she noticed again that the man’s face felt oddly familiar.
She was certain she had met him for the first time today, yet a strange sense of familiarity welled up within her.
His suspicious behavior, coupled with that inexplicable familiarity, made Azelina ask bluntly,
“Sorry, but… haven’t we met somewhere before?”
The man laughed heartily.
“Haha, it seems the lady has taken quite a liking to me.”
“…No. I’m not joking. I really feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”
His face was undeniably familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where they might have met, which frustrated her.
Since he didn’t seem to remember either, it might have been before her regression. Azelina brushed it off and focused again on finding Iana.
Pushing through the crowd toward the fountain, she finally spotted Iana, flustered and looking around.
Azelina smiled brightly and ran to her.
“Iana!”
Hearing someone call her, Iana turned her head—but didn’t recognize Azelina.
‘…Ah, right.’
Only then did Azelina remember she was disguised using the magic tool.
She handed the magic tool she had been holding back to the man. Taking it, he smiled leisurely without a word.
Reunited with Iana, Azelina embraced her tightly, overwhelmed with relief.
Then she turned around to thank the man.
She was happy to have found Iana again, but expressing her gratitude to him felt like the right thing to do first. Without his help, she might still have been searching.
However, perhaps because of the dense crowd, the man had vanished in the blink of an eye.
It was truly strange—a strange event and a strange man.
“You disappeared so suddenly—I was really worried…!”
Murmuring that, Azelina looked around once more, then belatedly examined Iana.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
Thankfully, Iana smiled and nodded.
After strolling through the street stalls together, Azelina returned to the imperial palace with Iana once it grew dark.
The Imperial Palace.
Already sparsely populated due to the small number of royals, the palace felt especially desolate today with two of them absent.
The palace was shrouded in darkness. Only a few distant lights could be seen, and even those were faint.
Azelina and Iana tiptoed toward the bedroom.
Opening the door carefully, the pitch-dark room came into view, unchanged from how it had looked earlier in the day.
Having wandered the plaza since early morning, Azelina was exhausted. Without even changing clothes, she crawled straight into bed.
She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but she had snacked on various things while browsing the stalls, so she wasn’t particularly hungry.
Too tired to even distinguish objects clearly, Azelina let the attendants help her change clothes and soon fell asleep.
An invitation arrived from Count Aere’s estate.
Just as the Count of Lankeia had mentioned, it was an invitation to enjoy a meal together at Count Aere’s residence.
The moment Iana and Madam Shano saw the invitation, they beamed.
Madam Shano, in particular, was overjoyed, fussing on her own and saying the Duchess would surely be pleased as well.
Placing Azelina in the center of the room, Madam Shano enthusiastically began selecting dresses.
“How about this one?”
In her hands was a red dress embroidered with ruby-like decorations.
The hem was wrapped in large, wide lace, a design so elaborate it was almost overwhelming to the eyes.
If she wore that dress, it would undoubtedly draw everyone’s attention at Count Aere’s estate.
“Your Highness has always suited blue tones, which is why I’ve recommended them until now. But this time, let’s try a new color. You’ll stand out even more.”
Azelina, who had no desire to stand out at Count Aere’s estate, nodded dully despite Madam Shano’s passionate explanation.
And now, wearing the red dress, Azelina felt all the more that red simply didn’t suit her.
“My goodness, it looks wonderful on you.”
Contrary to Azelina’s thoughts, Madam Shano smiled with great satisfaction.
“…It’s awful. You really think this suits me?”
Azelina frowned, but Madam Shano nodded firmly.
After much back-and-forth over what to wear, they ultimately decided on a blue dress. Madam Shano had exhausted herself trying to persuade Azelina.
