Chapter 74
Blink, blink.
Erne slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Her voice trembled like sugar melting in tea.
“Father?”
“Er…! Ash!”
The face was so familiar, yet the question remained—why was he here? No, how was he here?
Just from the knight’s report—“There’s someone causing a disturbance in the council chamber!”—it was impossible to guess this situation.
Marquis Damien spotted Erne and hastily corrected himself after calling her by the wrong name.
He approached her, arms wide open, tears brimming in his eyes.
“Oh, my poor daughter. Your face… it’s become so thin.”
The tears that clung to his lashes finally broke free, rolling down his cheeks.
That slight trembling soon grew into sobs, shaking his shoulders violently.
She didn’t fully understand what was going on yet, but instinctively, Erne raised a hand and patted his back.
“Wait… wait, don’t cry. Are you really my father? How… how are you alive?”
He was supposed to be dead.
Seriously… Marquis Damien is alive?
Erne’s face twisted with a mix of confusion and shock. Then behind Damien, familiar voices called out.
“Your Majesty.”
Libera? Noma?
Erne clutched her pounding chest. The sudden arrival of these completely unexpected people was almost too much.
And she thought desperately—
God, I wish I had some calming pills right now!
Her expression wavered between crying and laughing. Meanwhile, Damien finally composed himself enough to offer a proper greeting.
“Well then. Since you’re the queen now, I must show proper respect. Your Majesty, I—Damien, Marquis—have returned alive and well, with both arms and both legs intact!”
“…What?”
What is this, a soldier’s discharge report? Erne’s face went blank.
Then suddenly, she noticed the state of the council chamber—and her blood ran cold.
The whole place was a mess. The council table was split in two, and the officials were standing silently, sneaking nervous glances at Damien.
“What… what happened here?”
No one answered her frantic question.
Then her eyes landed on Derek at the far end of the room, sporting two swollen black eyes.
Erne gasped.
Apparently displeased that her attention was on Derek, Damien butted in quickly.
“As soon as I arrived, I found everyone lazing around instead of working. So I simply gave them a little… encouragement.”
That statement… and that timing… extremely suspicious.
Erne shot him a sharp look. Damien averted his eyes, whistling innocently.
Just then, Derek—who had been covering his face in the corner—suddenly sprang up and shouted.
“That’s not true! The Marquis suddenly showed up and said he didn’t like how my hair looked after so long…!”
Bold words, but of course Damien wasn’t about to let that slide.
He cut Derek off before Erne could misunderstand.
“What nonsense. I merely woke you up since you were sprawled out sleeping.”
“I wasn’t sleeping! And you didn’t just complain about my hair—you said you hated that I had two eyes…!”
“Oh, come now. Humans have two eyes. Or should they have one? Listen to yourself.”
“Your Majesty! Please stop him! He even said my nostrils being triangular annoyed him…!”
Aha. Erne got the gist of it and crossed her arms, glaring at Damien.
“Did you hit him three times?”
“I merely patted him, that’s all.”
Patted? Yeah, right. For some reason, she could almost sense a Windsor-like aura from Damien.
Am I imagining things? She tilted her head.
Anyway, the council was in chaos, thanks to Marquis Damien storming in alive and turning everything upside down.
Since everyone else seemed too stunned to function, Erne stepped up to restore order.
But first, she had a much more important conversation to have with Damien.
“Let’s move somewhere else. I need to hear what happened—directly from you.”
Damien nodded and followed. But Erne noticed two people who seemed frozen in place.
“You two. Come with us.”
They were probably planning to bolt while they had the chance. Not happening.
Erne’s eyes glinted dangerously as she stared down Libera and Noma.
The sharpness of her gaze was enough to make them vigorously shake their heads in surrender.
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“How could you do this?!”
“E-Erne… calm down…”
“Calm down? Do I look calm to you?! My father is alive, and you couldn’t even give me a hint? Not even through Coco?!”
Noma tried to soothe her, but Erne was beyond reasoning now.
Windsor eventually arrived, but even he could only gape in disbelief at the news.
Libera clasped her hands together and bowed her head.
“Erne, I’m sorry. But we couldn’t risk any leaks. The Marquis was under constant threat. The fewer who knew, the safer he’d be.”
“Libera… it shocks me more that you agreed to this. Even if Noma suggested it, you should’ve stopped her.”
Feeling the hostility shift toward her, Noma retorted, sulking.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean? What about me?”
Erne clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head furiously.
Meanwhile, Damien sat meekly, fully aware of his daughter’s wrath, keeping as quiet as a mouse.
Her head felt like it was going to explode from the stress, and finally, Erne shouted.
“Enough! I don’t care! Do you have any idea how much I… how much I broke down when there was no body, no trace? I wanted to give up on everything…”
Her voice cracked as raw hurt seeped through.
Damien sniffled and finally spoke with heartfelt remorse.
“I’m sorry, Erne. I truly am. It’s all my fault.”
That only made her draw a deep, shaky breath.
And then she said what she most wanted to say.
“For now…”
Three pairs of eyes focused on her as she finished:
“I don’t want to see any of your faces. OUT. NOW!”
Noma and Libera bolted upright with a gasp. They knew full well what Erne was like when she was angry—and survival instincts kicked in first.
Damien, however, stayed put, looking baffled as Libera tried to drag him out.
“Erne, I hate to ask this as I’m being thrown out, but… when you said ‘all three’—you meant me, Libera, and Noma, right?”
“Who else would I mean?”
His gaze slid to Windsor, standing calmly by her side.
The attention in the room zeroed in on him.
Erne rubbed her neck awkwardly and, picking up a book from the table, muttered:
“Windsor stays. I have something to discuss with him.”
Damien’s protest sounded almost like a roar—I can’t leave her alone with that man!—but the twins dutifully hauled the fuming Marquis away.
And then, it was just the two of them.
Windsor leaned closer and murmured in her ear.
“Raising your voice like that when you’re not fully recovered… it could strain your body.”
“You didn’t know either, right? You weren’t part of their little scheme to keep me in the dark?”
“I didn’t. I’m just as shocked as you. Though I must admit, I’m impressed at how airtight the Raven’s security is.”
Erne’s eyes wavered as she searched his face.
Seriously… why does he have to whisper in my ear instead of just talking normally?
She shook it off as nothing and spoke again.
“They said there were no traces… and now I understand. Libera and Noma covered everything up. We were too focused on Babylon’s movements. Wrong target, wrong assumptions.”
“At least it’s good news, isn’t it? The Marquis is safe. And now, the constitutional amendment… we might have his support.”
“I still need to know how he ended up with them. But first, I need to calm down…”
She sighed. Today felt like a storm crashing down on her head.
Watching her struggle, Windsor spoke softly.
“Was that all you wanted to tell me?”
“…Huh?”
“I thought you had something personal to say to me. I was… hoping for it, actually.”
When he smiled gently, her heart skipped violently. She buried her face in the book to hide her burning cheeks—though she still peeked at him from the corner of her eye.
“Well… it’s not like I have nothing to say…”
After her talk with Veli, Erne had decided maybe it was okay to be a little selfish. After all, she’d already blurted out lines as bad as “Want to come in for ramen?” or “Need to charge your phone?” once before. Nothing to lose now.
Erne nodded firmly and asked:
“What kind of… taste do you like?”
“…?”
“Wait! Don’t misunderstand! I’m not a pervert! I mean, pure taste—like normal preferences! Not… weird stuff…”
Seeing his puzzled expression, her confidence crumbled instantly.
Windsor chuckled low in his throat.
No matter what nonsense came out of her mouth, to him, it was endearing.
After a long, soft laugh, he finally answered.
“My taste isn’t complicated. Nothing extravagant. It’s… closer than you think.”
“…What?”
“It’s right in front of me. My taste.”
His deep gaze locked on hers.
The intensity of it made her feel as if she might be pulled right into his eyes.
Caught off guard by this sudden, almost-confession, Erne just sat there gaping.
And then Windsor leaned in, whispering once more.
“Also, Your Majesty… your book is upside down.”
