Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Far from an Alliance
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“You dare look at her with eyes not even fit for a beast.”
The Southern Duke’s low warning echoed through the corridor. His voice was sharp as frost. It was something Lena and Lin had never anticipated. The two of them stared at him in shock, as if doused with ice water. It felt like a bolt from the blue to them, but in truth, the Southern Duke had been seething ever since the council chamber.
“If you want a seat at the Round Table, show some basic manners first.”
The Southern Duke berated the Eastern Duke again in a menacing tone. He had noticed from earlier how Eastern Duke Rig-nan Aiterner had been staring relentlessly at his proxy. That beastly man had watched Lena with a strange glint in his eyes ever since she took her seat at the table. Even when she averted her gaze and showed her discomfort, it hadn’t changed. To the Southern Duke, that look felt utterly vulgar. It stemmed from his deep-seated prejudice that Eastern folk were debauched and lowborn. And now, running into him in the corridor like this—the old man could no longer stand idly by.
“Don’t expose your filthy nature to someone your equal.”
“. . . Filthy nature on a beast.”
As the Southern Duke warned through gritted teeth, Lin forced a smile and repeated his words.
“What did I even do?”
His voice was calm. But it was a barely maintained composure, and inside, he was a mess beyond words. It was no worse than the usual insults. Yet this time, the humiliation cut deeper than ever. Because of Lena, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Lin ground his teeth in genuine anger and smiled.
“I’d love to hear what you’re imagining.”
He gazed at the Southern Duke with languid, curved eyes. Then, in that serpentine, lowly whisper the old man so despised, he murmured,
“Projecting your own desires onto an innocent person won’t do you any good.”
“You bastard…!”
“Bastard, is it.”
The utterly impudent remark made veins bulge on the Southern Duke’s forehead. But Lin mocked his roar with a serene smile. Then, abruptly shifting the mood, he recited the words back in a face so chilling it was terrifying.
“‘Don’t expose your filthy nature to someone your equal.’”
“You…!”
“Enough.”
A voice cut between the Eastern Duke and Southern Duke as their murderous auras clashed. It was Lena.
“There are plenty of eyes on us. Let’s stop this. Both of you.”
Lena was the only one who could intervene in a fight between dukes here. At her calm mediation, the tension filling the corridor snapped. As the dukes’ piercing presences softened, she turned to the Eastern Duke.
“I won’t apologize. It seems I’m the one who needs apologies most right now.”
Lin flinched at Lena’s dry words. Realizing his mistake too late, he looked at her face as if to explain. But the gaze she met him with was cold. His own panic sank into chill under that look. Though it felt like his heart was being sliced, he narrowed his eyes to hide any hurt.
“I think the one you should be grilling is someone else.”
Lin muttered as if it were amusing, then glanced at the Southern Duke standing behind her.
“Though tending to a senile old fool isn’t your responsibility.”
With that mocking remark, Lin turned away with his knights. As the Eastern Duke left behind only a frigid air, the Southern Duke ground his teeth. So Lena sighed as she spoke to the still fuming old man.
“Thank you. You really did a number on my reputation.”
“What….”
“Treated me like a child who can’t speak for herself, then like prey for a thug. Quite the variety of humiliations. In front of all those people.”
The Southern Duke lost his words at Lena’s matter-of-fact reproach. He finally recognized his own rashness, but Lena felt no satisfaction. It was because of Lin, who had turned away coldly.
‘He really seemed angry.’
Lena had clearly felt his emotions shift. He had been rattled by the sudden accusation, then shown a sharpness she’d never seen. But she couldn’t worry about him purely. It was because of his words that lingered in her mind.
—Projecting your own desires onto an innocent person won’t do you any good.
That was an insult not just to the Southern Duke, but to her as well. She understood why Lin had to counter like that, but being lumped in and insulted didn’t sit well. Her displeasure refusing to fade, Lena bit her lip.
‘Why did we have to run into each other, of all times….’
With her mood tangled, Lena tried to blame the unlucky circumstances. But even that was difficult. This wasn’t just bad luck. As long as she was the Southern Duke’s proxy and he was the Eastern Duke, a clash was inevitable someday. She couldn’t ignore that fact, and it only complicated her feelings more. The night before, when they had met, felt impossibly distant now. At this rate, forget an alliance—even a nighttime stroll would be impossible.
***
While the dukes’ council was underway, preparations for the victory banquet were in full swing in one wing of the imperial palace. The banquet hall, where the ceremony would be held, was filled with wildflowers the Emperor Nihil loved. It meant his mood was that good. As the sun set, nobles in elegant attire gathered one by one. When the seats were nearly full, the hero of the victory ceremony made her appearance. The South’s lone hero who had returned victorious from the grave: Lena Rubel. Entering in her uniform, Lena sensed the nobles’ atmosphere had shifted. The middle-aged nobles who had once eyed her with curiosity now looked on warmly, while the young ones who had harbored vague resentment deflated and pretended indifference. The Southern Knights, for whom this was a bed of nails, were breaking out in cold sweats avoiding Lena and the Southern Duke’s eyes. Feeling the change in gazes directed at her, Lena scanned the banquet hall. And she spotted one person.
‘Lin….’
Lin and the Eastern Knights had taken seats on the far side. Lena stole glances at him, careful not to let the Southern Duke notice. But Lin didn’t look her way. He must have sensed her entrance from the mood alone, yet he stared fixedly at the drapes on the opposite side of the hall, as if deaf to the world. As Lena cautiously observed him, the gentle music flowing through the hall cut off abruptly, plunging it into silence. Then majestic chords erupted all at once, and Emperor Nihil appeared atop the central staircase. Emerging alongside Clavis, he wore a pure white tailcoat—unlike the near-naked state at the Founding Day celebration. The Emperor and the Cardinal looked almost like twins. The nobles bowed deeply, but Nihil didn’t bid them rise. Instead, he silently descended to the hall and crossed it. The nobles tensed at the Emperor’s unexpected action. At last, he stopped before the South’s Lena Rubel. Lena’s downward gaze caught the white shoes of the Emperor. She wondered if she should stay as she was or bow lower. That was when it happened.
“Lena Rubel.”
The Emperor reached out and lifted her chin. Caught off guard, Lena raised her head to look up at him.
“I remember your name.”
The Emperor recited the words while gazing at her expressionlessly.
“Well done.”
At the unexpected praise, Lena met the glassy eyes of the Emperor.
“Everyone, rise.”
Then Clavis bade the nobles to stand in the Emperor’s stead.
“Pay homage to His Majesty’s mercy.”
At Clavis’s prompting, the nobles, gauging the mood, erupted in applause and cheers. No one knew exactly what mercy it was, but they followed suit. Discarding thought and aligning with the imperial word—that was the easiest way to survive in the palace.
. . .
Once the Emperor’s bizarre commendation ended, the banquet regained its lively air. Young gentlemen and ladies danced to the music, and conversations flowed everywhere. Lena exchanged greetings with many through the Southern Duke. Lin, too, was surrounded by people. But the quality of those approaching Lena and Lin differed starkly. Their social circles diverged so completely that the two seemed like beings from different worlds, drifting apart. They both felt it acutely but played their roles, pretending not to know.
At the same time, in a corner of the banquet hall, a man was steadily getting drunk. The second son of a Southern viscount family, a member of the Southern Knights—and the very knight who had accosted Lena at their betrothal meeting. The broad-shouldered, thick-necked knight was drowning his unease in alcohol.
‘Damn it….’
He didn’t like this situation. No, he couldn’t believe it. That impudent woman Lena Rubel had conquered the grave alone and returned with glory? There had to be some mistake. Or she had lied about something.
“Are you all brainless?!”
Unable to hold back, the knight bellowed. A nearby lady humored him vaguely.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m saying I’m the only one here who can think!”
The knight was already quite drunk. Oblivious to the amused stares around him, he vented his grievances.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“So what doesn’t make sense?”
“That woman, Lena Rubel!”
The knight shouted through gritted teeth.
“You really believe a bitch like her conquered the grave? A slut who flirts around everywhere? Do you all even have eyes, or….”
Mid-rant, the knight trailed off at a strange vibe. Something was off. The nobles who had been laughing at him until moments ago were now glaring wide-eyed. The knights looked around, wondering what had come over them. But that was just the beginning. Not just the young nobles nearby—everyone in the banquet hall stopped talking and stared at the knight. Even the gentle music cut off abruptly.
“What….”
Flustered by the sudden attention and silence, the knight panicked as palace officials approached and hauled him up. Officials only touched nobles when dragging away criminals. Enraged, the knight shoved them off. But the officials ignored it and firmly dragged him away. At last, they dumped him before the central staircase. The knight shot to his feet in fury. And froze solid.
“F….”
For there, seated on the stairs right in front of his nose, was the Emperor. Facing the Emperor, the knight’s heart plummeted. As he gawked dumbly, the Emperor muttered.
“This traitor.”
“Tra…!”
Too shocked to even retort, the knight froze. Traitor? He’d never even dreamed of such a thing. As he stood petrified like stone, a soft voice came from beside him.
“Bold, aren’t you.”
It was the Cardinal, leaning on the stair railing.
“Contradicting something His Majesty praised as ‘well done’—if that’s not treason, what is?”
Something His Majesty praised as ‘well done.’ It was about Lena Rubel. Realizing he’d been dragged out for insulting her, the knight’s jaw dropped.
“No way….”
“That too is treason.”
At Clavis’s smiling words, all color drained from the knight’s face. Treason for a mere word—it felt like a nightmare. A low noble with no ties to the palace couldn’t comprehend its ecosystem.
“Then, Your Majesty, the verdict.”
“Before that, Lena Rubel?”
Clavis requested judgment, but Nihil sought Lena first. At the Emperor’s call, Lena stepped forward amid the onlookers.
“It’s your fault.”
The Emperor reproached her impassively.
“Your poor reputation made them doubt my words. So prove it. Prove you’re worthy of my praise.”
Languidly speaking, the Emperor nodded to a servant. The servants went to the guards, collecting their swords. The sound of blades drawn rang out in succession. Seeing the keen edges, Lena understood what ‘proof’ the Emperor meant.
“One of Naza’s sons will suffice as an opponent.”
And the Emperor even kindly selected her foe. But Lena didn’t know who Naza’s son was. So she followed the nobles’ gazes and turned her head—only to lock eyes with an unexpected figure. Lin stared at her with a hardened face. The flurry of looks informed her: that man was ‘Naza’s son.’ Lena’s eyes, calm even as swords were drawn, trembled faintly the moment they met his.
“Fight.”
Amid it all, the Emperor commanded leisurely.
“Until one of you can’t hold a sword anymore.”