CHAPTER 56
Tereo looked at Yulias with uneasy eyes.
Countless empty bottles rolled around their feet.
Despite all the strong liquor he had consumed, Yulias sat on the bed with a surprisingly steady face.
“You called for me.”
“Yes.”
The man’s short answer came out in a frighteningly calm tone.
Tereo had seen that same dark expression once before.
It was when Lincia had tried to leave the imperial palace.
Yulias had broken down the same way back then.
“Tomorrow evening, Her Highness plans to escape the palace.”
“She’s going out? Maybe I’ve been too harsh. She can go if she wants.”
“No, Your Majesty. She intends to go to the Kingdom of Rensier. But the mercenaries she hired… they’re not exactly reliable—”
“Silence. So what you’re saying is—”
Tereo had never intended to help Lincia escape.
She was royal by birth and knew nothing of the outside world.
Even if the Durand Empire prided itself on its order, it wasn’t kind to a beautiful woman traveling alone.
She wouldn’t even be able to paint anymore, the thing she loved most.
Still, the reason he hadn’t immediately reported her plan was because he feared what Yulias might do.
He had seen what happened when the emperor lost control—he could kill his own sister.
But Yulias reacted in a way Tereo hadn’t expected.
“…My sister tried to leave me?”
He looked deeply shaken, breathing as though betrayed by the one person he trusted.
After asking several times again, the true emperor spoke in a nervous, searching tone.
“Was it because of the poison? Is she afraid of the palace now?”
“…”
“Right, my sister’s always been fragile. There’s no way she’d leave because she hates me, right?”
Seeing Yulias seeking agreement, Tereo reluctantly nodded.
“Of course, but selling information about your mistress is still treason.”
“I’m sorry for that. But the mercenaries she met aren’t trustworthy, and as a low-ranking guard, I didn’t have the authority to act—”
“I’ll promote you to knight commander. Bring her back. But you’re never to step foot near her chambers again.”
“Tereo, did you know my sister hated me?”
The sudden heaviness in Yulias’s voice made Tereo freeze.
The low tone cracked as if struggling under the weight of emotion.
“You can tell me the truth. When she first tried to flee, was it because of me?”
“…Yes.”
“And when she danced with you, it was just to avoid dancing with me? What did she say?”
“She said she was choosing the lesser evil.”
Yulias gave a faint laugh. Then he began tapping the desk—tap, tap.
“To you, do I really look like someone who tormented my sister?”
Tereo bit the inside of his cheek.
In truth, that’s what everyone believed.
They all thought Yulias kept Lincia close to take revenge on the late empress’s child.
To avenge his mother’s suffering—that was the common belief.
Yulias gripped the bottle tightly.
As a child, he, Lincia, and Anna had been inseparable.
It was a memory known only to them.
So maybe it was understandable that others misunderstood—but not his sister.
Unable to contain himself, he hurled the bottle against the wall.
Crash—glass shattered, and red liquid splattered everywhere.
“Why? Why? Everything I did was to protect her…”
He bit his lip hard, lost in memory.
It wasn’t hard to recall how often he’d demanded Lincia “repay” him for letting her live.
He had been young then…
No, even now he could admit she had every reason to misunderstand him.
“Hah… ha-ha. It’s my fault.”
Yulias stood abruptly.
Then muttered quietly,
“Let’s kill Oberok. Then maybe we can start over.”
***
For two days straight, Harvich didn’t go to the bedroom.
No, he couldn’t.
Because Lincia had sent word that she didn’t want to see him for a while.
“…It’s too hard to look at you right now. I need to be alone.”
Harvich obeyed her request for the first time in a long while.
Since their bedrooms had been joined, her personal space had become smaller anyway, and he knew his confession had been too sudden.
He hadn’t considered her position at all.
So he stayed in his office at the main estate.
It had been arranged for her to work in, so the room was larger than his old one.
He even organized all her books and old records so she could easily access them when she returned.
Because of that, Baron Aidan now had to report to the main estate instead of the outer one.
Meanwhile, Harvich occasionally practiced smiling in the mirror.
In the past, the day after seeing Lincia, his cheeks would ache—proof that he had smiled genuinely.
When he tried consciously, the smile looked fine, but there was an odd stiffness to it.
Ethan Chaester requested a private audience.
Harvich received him on the sofa in his office.
“You said you wanted to speak.”
Ethan looked nervous. His delicate features carried the typical frailty of the Chaester family, which didn’t inspire much confidence.
“Yes, Your Grace… I heard the Duchess is seeking a new physician.”
“So?”
“I—I can do it.”
His stammer and lack of conviction did nothing to assure Harvich.
Then again, that weakness seemed common among the Chaester family.
“Weren’t you afraid of blood?”
Ethan had earned his medical certification but only made remedies—he never treated patients himself.
“I can handle prenatal care.”
At present, the duchy was short on physicians.
After Harvich had dismissed the doctors connected to Marquis Avalon, only a few trauma specialists remained.
None were certified to handle pregnancy.
Harvich studied Ethan Chaester carefully.
Ash-gray hair, brown eyes that trembled too easily.
A man like that would never dare challenge Lincia—he’d treat her with utmost caution.
But he was from the North.
Even if he looked weak, his build was twice that of Oberok.
If he ever changed his mind, he could harm both mother and child.
“What are your credentials?”
“I recently earned my first-class medical license.”
Ethan gave a nervous smile and handed over the document.
The issue date roughly coincided with Lincia’s pregnancy.
That coincidence made Harvich suspicious.
“Why did you bother earning it now?”
“Ah… well…”
Ethan fumbled, unable to speak clearly.
“You didn’t happen to expect the Duchess to become pregnant, did you? The timing seems too perfect.”
“N-no! That’s not it! I—I just—”
“Speak.”
