Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Rainy Night
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“I’ll sleep outside.”
Lena blinked in surprise at Yuni’s abrupt declaration.
“Where do you think you’re going at this hour?”
“Surely in this vast imperial palace, there’s nowhere for a body like mine to lie down?”
“Pardon?”
“Please, you two, have a wonderful time…….”
With that, Yuni grabbed a pillow as if to flaunt it, thrusting shame upon the two people before her—Lena and Lin. The little one in her pajamas even nodded knowingly, as if she knew everything. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Lena gently tucked Yuni back into bed, ending the series of provocations. Afterward, Lena stepped out of the bedroom with Lin. With Yuni confined to the bedroom and the two of them alone, Lin, who had been teased without knowing why, asked softly.
“Is she really a maid?”
It was a reasonable suspicion. She hadn’t seemed much like a maid even when they first met. She was too young to be one, lacked any sense of class difference with Lena, and had an oddly fierce air about her. When Lin voiced his doubts about Yuni’s identity, Lena smiled and replied.
“For now, yes.”
“For now?”
“Yuni’s my friend. She’s just playing the maid to help me out for a bit.”
As she spoke, Lena handed Lin a towel. He silently wiped the water from his face with it. But that wasn’t nearly enough.
“You should take off your clothes and dry them.”
“No…….”
“Are you throwing a tantrum? After coming here in the middle of the night?”
“Throwing a tantrum…….”
“Just take off your shirt. I’m worried you’ll catch a cold.”
Lena fetched a blanket as she said this, and Lin, after some hesitation, realized his white shirt wasn’t doing its job anymore and carefully undid the buttons. But when he reached the third button from the collar, he paused and looked at Lena.
“……Why are you staring?”
“Oh.”
Lena, who had been gazing quietly at him, realized he was embarrassed and averted her eyes. But even that seemed more like she was doing him a favor than feeling awkward herself. Feeling the unfairness of it, Lin shrugged off his wet shirt and pulled the blanket over himself. Once Lin had turned into a blanket-wrapped figure, Lena sat him down in a chair. Then, for him with his arms holding the blanket closed, she began drying his hair in his stead. As Lena personally toweled his hair, Lin pretended to be flustered. But soon he relaxed his tension and let her do as she pleased.
“You seem used to it.”
“Used to what?”
“Taking care of other people.”
“Hmm, no. Normally, I’m the one being taken care of. Yuni’s much more meticulous than I am.”
Lena added this while rubbing his ears with the towel.
“But you’re the kind who needs a lot more looking after than I do.”
Lin, who had been tickled by her touch, snapped to attention at the blunt assessment. He then pondered if he was really such an incompetent guy. It felt off to judge himself, but Eastern Duke Rig-nan Aiterner was thorough in all things and decisive in handling affairs. So the phrase “needs a lot of looking after” didn’t quite fit him, but Lin couldn’t argue with Lena. Because he knew full well how much he let his guard down around her. As he wondered if this was really okay, Lena asked.
“What did you want to talk about that you came all the way here in the rain?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Lin thought for a moment. Should he tease her on the edge like she did—say he came because he wanted to see her? It was tempting. He was always the one on the receiving end; maybe once wouldn’t hurt. Lin entertained the mischievous thought briefly but soon humbly gave it up. He wasn’t as shameless as Lena.
“I have a lot I want to say…….”
“A lot?”
“But since you probably won’t answer anyway, I figured I won’t ask either.”
Lena pressed firmly on his temple with the hand that had been drying his hair. It hurt quite a bit, so Lin tapped her arm, demanding she stop.
“Good thing your head’s still on straight. You seemed pretty shaken yesterday.”
After punishing his silly banter once, Lena broached the topic again.
“The person you saw in the tomb yesterday—was that someone you know?”
“Yeah. But I’m not talking about this either.”
“Why not?”
“Because it has to be fair…… ow.”
This time, Lena pinched both his cheeks. It was possible only because of the layer of towel. And this punishment was half in jest, half in earnest. Lin was being awfully standoffish today. He used to answer everything straightforwardly before. Lena found it irritating, then recalled his words about fairness and bit her lower lip. If he put it that way, she really had nothing to say. After all, she was the one who brushed off his questions with vague smiles. In the end, Lena shut her mouth without asking more. By the time they’d exchanged a few words, his hair was mostly dry and needed no more toweling. As Lena stopped her hands, the silence grew sharper. Just as the quiet began to feel heavy, Lin spoke up again.
“I thought about it all day.”
He really had. About what exactly he’d seen in the tomb and what it meant.
“The thought hit me that maybe everything I know is fake.”
The empire’s tales of the emperor’s achievements, the great blessings he bestowed, and humanity’s fated struggle against the wraiths. It occurred to him that all of it might be one grand play.
“And if that’s true, then you already know the truth.”
Lena Rubel, who came to the imperial palace to meet her father. The lady who led the tomb conquest just to exist as Lena Rubel. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what she’d gone through to reach this point or what resolve lay behind it. Lin pulled the towel from his head and looked up. His view cleared, revealing Lena’s face. She gazed down at him like someone awaiting an interrogation. Seeing the evasion and refusal already prepared in her eyes, Lin whispered flatly.
“I’m curious, but I won’t ask until you tell me.”
“……Why?”
“Because you must have your reasons for not saying. And figuring it out is my job.”
A glint sparked in Lena’s eyes at Lin’s calm reply. Truth be told, she’d braced herself. For Lin to bombard her with questions and demand answers. For him to ruthlessly discard their promise without even realizing it. But her worries proved unfounded—Lin kept his word. Despite the confusion from yesterday, he hadn’t crumbled in the end and somehow held his ground. Lena felt an odd mix of disappointment at having her expectations crushed by him. His response made her want to spill everything instead. Why she’d come to the imperial palace, why she was giving her father a chance, why she sought recognition of her existence. She wanted to lay it all bare. But she still couldn’t, so Lena murmured softly.
“I wish I’d met you sooner, Lin.”
In those countless moments, how different would it have been with someone like him by her side? Lena imagined it briefly, then furrowed her brow and smiled.
“Hmm, no?”
She rewound time in her mind, then shook her head. Would this man have been strong from the start? No, he’d grown strong through his own trials. She couldn’t lean on him without cost. Besides, Lena had endured her own ordeals to become strong. It was her pride, and she didn’t regret the power she’d gained, burdensome responsibility and all.
“On second thought, now’s better.”
Meeting earlier would just mean two pitiful kids. So Lena retracted her fleeting notion. Lin asked why.
“Why?”
“Because now, if you pry, I can hit you. The old me couldn’t have.”
Lena answered lightly, and Lin’s face paled once more. He couldn’t believe the topic she’d suddenly brought up and froze for a long while before groaning like a man being strangled.
“Not that it’s my place to say, but…… are you really okay with it?”
“With what?”
“That…….”
Lin couldn’t bring himself to say it. He was too moral a person to discuss that sequence of events directly. When he couldn’t get the words out, Lena said it for him.
“It hurt.”
Lin’s pale face flushed hot at her candid follow-up. But Lena explained calmly, her face impassive.
“But I can’t blame your will, intent, or any fault of yours for it, so I’m just treating it like getting bitten by a big dog.”
“A big dog…….”
Lin was a bit shocked by the “big dog” label.
“So I don’t see the need to attach any special meaning to it.”
Her follow-up shocked him even more. Seeing Lena smile purely as always, Lin’s feelings grew quite complicated. Come to think of it, she kept saying “bitten,” never naming it a kiss. Just as she said, she meant to treat it like being nipped by some naughty stray. Lin pondered how to take this unusual puppy treatment before finally accepting it. Yeah, better that way. Better to brush off something awful as trivial than let it scar his memory. He acknowledged it as the best he could do. So he agreed with what she’d said earlier. Thank goodness they’d met now. If earlier, Lena might have fled his sharp shadow like everyone else. Thank goodness she hadn’t. She was worn and frayed, but now she could endure anything—and that’s how they’d met. Thank goodness for that. Even if they were full of secrets from each other, even if this bond felt precarious as ice over water. Just being able to be together like this. Lin thought so and smiled weakly. Looking up while smiling, he saw Lena smiling back with a similar expression. He finally understood a little why she always smiled like that. The rain still fell outside. Being together amid the thickening patter of rain was surely a blessing.
. . .
In the early dawn, Yuni stretched vigorously as she woke. Rubbing her eyes, she turned toward the young lady’s bed—only to find it inexplicably empty.
“Huh?”
Yuni scanned the bedroom with bleary eyes, searching for the young lady. But the morning-sleepy young lady was nowhere to be seen. Yuni finally went out to the living room, where she witnessed something unexpected.
“Eh?”
Beneath the window where sunlight and curtains swayed, Lena and Lin sat on the sofa, asleep. They didn’t look uncomfortable. Leaning against each other, they seemed quite cozy.
“These two…….”
Yuni trembled at the shameless adult behavior she’d unwillingly witnessed, then grumbled as she turned away. She dragged a bedsheet from the bedroom and covered the two of them.
***
The rain that had fallen all night stopped at dawn. As sunlight filtered through the window into the room, the young man bound to the bed grimaced and opened his eyes. He tried to shield his face with his hand, then realized he was tied up and vented his irritation.
“Untie me.”
At the youth’s hoarse voice, the servants in the room hurried over.
“Your Highness, are you awake?”
“I said untie me.”
But the scowling youth—Lubid—snapped at them without answering. Alarmed by his sharp menace, the servants hastily undid the silk binding his arms. As the knots loosened, Lubid shook them off in annoyance. He rotated his numb wrists and ground his teeth.
“Damn it, who tied me up like this crap?”
Lubid glared irritably at the innocent servants. But they shrank back while inwardly relieved his fiery temper had returned. It had been a week. Lubid, who’d been screaming that his brother would slit his throat, had finally come to his senses after a week. As the servants secretly sighed in relief, Lubid tore the offending silk to shreds in a fit of rage. He hurled the pieces aside and asked.
“Where’s Iura?”
“In his chambers.”
“Has he come here?”
“No.”
The servant answered while gauging Lubid’s complexion. For the past six days, Lubid had been terrified of Iura and raving. So he lied that Iura hadn’t visited at night, thinking it unwise to say otherwise. Lubid’s face twisted even more ferociously.
“‘No failed products needed,’ huh.”
Baring his fangs, he clenched his teeth, then abruptly rose from the bed.
“Call Rubel.”
“Your Highness, perhaps you should recover first…….”
“I said call.”
The servant’s remonstration earned a glare from Lubid. Under that icy gaze and heavy command, the servant had no choice but to withdraw. Soon other servants came to wash and change Lubid. His body, bound so long, was far from well, but Lubid held himself proudly erect. He had no time for leisurely recuperation. Right now, his mind was consumed with washing away his humiliation.