Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Suspicion
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Rin stared with wide eyes at the woman gradually receding into the distance. Her wavy black hair. Her thick eyebrows. Her sunken cheeks. Her pale skin. Her strikingly red lips and bright eyes reminiscent of a beast of prey. Naza Aiterner. His birth mother and the former Eastern Duke. The merciless invader who trampled the East. The butcher. That was why. That was why, seven years ago, Rin had leaped to his death upon learning that Naza Aiterner was his birth mother. He simply couldn’t accept that the person who had crushed his homeland and killed his adoptive parents was his own flesh and blood. He couldn’t bear the thought of that blood flowing through his veins. That was why. It had been that way. Undoubtedly.
“Why you…….”
There, of all places? The moment the question arose in his mind, the rift in the air, which had been slowly closing, finally vanished. But Rin, already captivated by Naza Aiterner, remained frozen in place, unable to move. He was bewildered. He couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was dying.
“Are you okay?”
Lena asked, noticing Rin’s ashen face. But he couldn’t respond. He was in no state to answer; he could barely even breathe. Realizing he wasn’t breathing, Lena shook him.
“Rin? Rin!”
When Rin didn’t react, Lena grabbed both his cheeks and forced him to look at her. Then, locking eyes with him, she said,
“Look at me. Do you know who I am?”
As Lena pulled at his face and asked, Rin’s gaze focused on her.
“Breathe. Slowly. Look at me.”
Lena soothed him, guiding his breathing, and Rin’s ragged breaths gradually steadied after meeting her eyes. Once his breathing fully returned, Rin weakly closed his eyes. Exhausted, he slumped against her, and Lena silently held his limp body. Rin rested his forehead on Lena’s shoulder, staying still. Feeling her hand gently stroking his back, he quietly endured everything that had overwhelmed him. ***
“Word has it that Lady Naza Aiterner had a terribly ferocious temper.”
On a neatly folded stack of bed sheets, a mild-mannered boy priest said.
“To the point where no one dared approach her casually, except His Imperial Majesty. Even the dukes steered clear. That says it all.”
The young maid sitting across from him on a pillow sheet puckered her lips into a triangle. Then, as if she couldn’t comprehend, she asked back,
“But dukes are on the same level, aren’t they? How could she get away with that?”
“Lady Naza must have been that intimidating. Her accomplishments speak for themselves, after all. She was the first to subjugate the wraiths, and she successfully pacified the East. It’s said that even His Majesty favored her because of it.”
The Emperor favored those who faithfully followed his commands. And he judged loyalty by results, not the process. Naza Aiterner had been a duke uniquely beloved by such an emperor.
“Once, she beat someone she didn’t like until he was covered in blood—a high-ranking Southern noble, no less. But His Majesty took her side and smoothed it over.”
“The empire’s in fine shape.”
“……You can’t say that anywhere else, okay?”
The boy priest, Enji, tried to hush the young maid’s irreverence, but she merely snorted in response. Startled for no reason, Enji glanced around. Fortunately, no one was nearby. It was prime sunlight hours, so everyone must have gone to hang the laundry. Enji patted his chest in relief, but the young maid, Uni, scoffed again, mocking his timidity. The place where Uni and Enji, the two youngsters, chattered was the imperial palace’s underground laundry. A few days ago, Enji had approached her, and despite their difference in status, they quickly became friends. The ever-bold maid and the marquis’s son who flitted about everywhere faced no high walls of rank between them. So today, too, the two met and sat gossiping on the piled-up bed sheets in the laundry, and somehow the conversation turned to the former Eastern Duke. It started with Enji’s question, continued by Uni’s follow-up.
“Anyway, Lady Naza Aiterner was infamous for her savage temper. Lord Rig-nan Aiterner has a poor reputation too, but the consensus is it’s not on her level.”
“Hmm, is that so……?”
Uni crossed her arms, mulling over Enji’s story. The Eastern Duke—Rin—was a good person at heart, yet had a bad reputation. Could her mother be the same? Uni considered the possibility, then shook her head. Naza had brutally destroyed the empire’s eastern nations. No way someone like that was kind. As she thought that, Uni suddenly gasped in surprise.
“Then the Eastern Duke is the son of the woman who invaded his own country?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The ignorant maid belatedly realized that famous fact and was shocked, while the well-bred young master kindly answered instead of boasting.
“It’s one reason people dislike the Eastern Duke. His origins are a contradiction; you never know when he might turn.”
“But how did he become a duke?”
“His Majesty decided it, what else.”
Uni was at a loss for words at Enji’s reply. Sensing the heavy mood, Enji changed his tone and asked back.
“Anyway. Back to the main point— is the Proxy of the South Duke dating the Eastern Duke?”
“You’re persistent.”
Enji’s eyes sparkled as he asked, and Uni, who had been eagerly listening to his history lessons, clicked her tongue briefly. Enji had gone on at length about the former Eastern Duke precisely to lead to this question. The moment he saw Uni today, he’d asked about the two’s relationship. Uni had deflected, saying how would she know the affairs of high nobles, and that someone like the Eastern Duke surely had a fiancée. Enji countered that there was no fiancée, noting the former Eastern Duke never married, and launched into a long talk about Naza Aiterner. But that didn’t mean he’d forgotten the original topic.
“Huh? What’s their deal? Are they dating?”
“I said I don’t know.”
“Really? You must’ve heard about yesterday.”
Just yesterday, the Eastern Duke and the Proxy of the South Duke had created a most peculiar scene at Do-um Palace. That was why Enji had come to Uni more excited than usual. The two had already been giving off suspicious vibes while searching the tomb together. Everyone was already suspecting their relationship, and yesterday’s events poured oil on the flames. The two entered the tomb, and the Eastern Knights and church priests waited leisurely for their return. It was a routine by now; no one was tense anymore. But half an hour later, the Eastern Duke returned alone. His shirt was gone—who knew where—and his face and body were covered in wounds. At the unexpected sight, the Eastern Knights rushed over, thinking something had gone wrong. But before they could ask, the Eastern Duke ordered them to fetch a cloak. His voice was calm as he spoke, and though puzzled, the knights obeyed first. Then, without explanation, the Eastern Duke took the cloak and reentered the rift. Soon after, he emerged again—this time with the Proxy of the South Duke at his side, wrapped in the Eastern Duke’s cloak. It was suspicious no matter how you looked, and the knights and priests stared at the half-naked man and the presumably half-naked woman with eyes like startled rabbits. The Eastern Duke belatedly explained that “the ash carriers burned our clothes,” but it was no use.
“Even if we grant that their clothes burned, there’s no reason for the Eastern Duke to fuss over her like that, right?”
Everyone thought like Enji. Fetching a cloak was an act laden with considerable care. For the Eastern Duke, of all people, to show such consideration. People firmly believed he harbored some feelings for the Proxy of the South Duke. Enji was one of them, which left Uni a bit exasperated.
“You’ve already made up your mind—why ask?”
“It’s not a conclusion; it’s a conviction. Convictions need support and encouragement.”
“Oh, please.”
“And besides, neither of them showed up today, right? Huh? Why’s that? Your young lady say nothing?”
Enji pressed again, eyes pleading. As he said, the Eastern Duke and Proxy of the South Duke, who had attended Do-um Palace daily this week, both stayed away today as if by prior agreement. This too was ominous, fueling Enji’s burning curiosity. He depended on Uni fervently, like seeking divine revelation, but she frustratingly played dumb.
“What do you mean ‘nothing’? Don’t jump to conclusions. He could’ve just gotten her a cloak. And even if there’s something, you think I’d tell you?”
“Hey, I told you everything you asked.”
“That wasn’t your secret; it’s stuff anyone knows.”
“That’s petty…….”
“It’s not petty; it’s wise.”
Uni gathered the laundry basket as she spoke.
“Where are you going?”
“You think I’m as idle as you?”
“Don’t go. If you have work, I’ll help.”
“No thanks. You can’t even fold a bed sheet properly.”
Uni scolded Enji and finally stood. Ignoring his whiny pleas for more gossip to the end, she headed into the corridor. There, she ran into the old butler of House Lubel. He wore a slightly awkward expression, so Uni deliberately gave him a nod and passed by. *** At that moment, Lena was finally getting some rest in her room. But only her body rested; her mind was a mess of worry over Rin.
‘Is Rin okay?’
Lena sighed, recalling Rin’s pale face. Yesterday, Rin had seen a woman in the tomb. Whether he knew her or not, the color drained from his face the moment he spotted her. He was so shaken she couldn’t even ask who she was or if he knew her. He’d leaned on Lena for a long while, and when he finally calmed, he only mumbled that he needed to rest tomorrow before falling silent. So Lena hadn’t gone to Do-um Palace today either.
‘Of all things, to see that.’
Lena sighed again, replaying yesterday’s events. Wraiths revealing their living appearances wasn’t something that happened often. In her seven years in the tomb, Lena had witnessed it only once. Only the King of the Dead retained his ego after death; the wraiths under him moved according to their attributes or his will. For one to defy the king’s will and show its living form? Unthinkable unless it was extraordinarily powerful. A being so potent it served the King with Many Hearts. And one Rin recognized. There was only one possible figure, so Lena could guess Rin’s circumstances to some extent. That made her worry about him even more. The tomb’s truths were too cruel for the living. Those who faced even a glimpse couldn’t live proper lives. No need to look far for proof—Lena herself was exhibit one. So she hoped Rin wouldn’t end up like her, worrying and worrying about him. *** At the same time, Rin was alone in his room, lost in thought like Lena. But unlike her fears, he wasn’t breaking down. Instead, he confronted the flood of doubts head-on.
‘It wasn’t an illusion.’
Rin was certain what he’d seen yesterday wasn’t an illusion or fake.
‘If it were, Lena would’ve said so.’
If the Naza Aiterner who appeared yesterday had been an illusion, Lena surely would’ve told him. It’s fake, you can see things like that in the tomb, don’t be fooled. But Lena said none of that. When he recoiled in shock at the woman emerging from a snake’s shed skin, she’d tried to understand and calm his turmoil instead. So Rin seriously accepted the possibility that Naza Aiterner existed as a wraith. And he sifted through the questions that followed. Layering inference upon inference, the pieces fell into place one by one. The sensation of completing the picture was utterly horrifying. He felt like he might go mad, but Rin didn’t turn away—he faced it. And he pondered. Why the Authority granted to the dukes by the Emperor so eerily resembled the power of the wraiths.