Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Unease
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Rin took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
“Your Grace!”
The moment he awoke, someone shouted beside him. A familiar voice—Deka.
“Are you all right?”
Rin silently looked around. He was lying in a bed. It was an imperial palace bedroom, but not the one he usually used. It was dark outside the window, and the room was dimly lit by lanterns. Rin scanned the situation with bleary eyes, then suddenly came to his senses and sat up.
“How long was I out?”
“A little over a day.”
At Deka’s answer, Rin looked out the window again. A little over a day meant the victory banquet had already begun. And judging by the time, it was evening.
“The banquet?”
“It’s already started.”
Rin’s heart sank at Deka’s calm report. . . . The Eastern Duke hastily donned his attire and rushed to the banquet hall. As he crossed the long corridor with his attendants, the unique clamor of the banquet already reached his ears. Voices, laughter, music. When the Eastern Duke arrived at the entrance, the doorman moved to announce him. But Rin stopped him and entered quietly. Instead of the main entrance leading to the central hall, he took the side door connected to the second-floor corridor. This drew less attention but allowed him a full view of the main hall where the ball was in full swing. And that was how Rin spotted her immediately. A lady dancing brilliantly, led by a man in a white tailcoat. Lena Rubel, in a golden gown.
Seeing Lena, Rin felt his tension melt away. He had already heard that she had woken up a few hours before him. But he couldn’t relax until he saw her with his own eyes. He had rushed over in a panic, and witnessing her dancing as if nothing had happened brought a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness.’
Rin finally relaxed. Only then did he notice something else. The man dancing with Lena. None other than Emperor Nihil.
‘The Emperor, dancing?’
Rin was stunned by the unprecedented sight. Nihil, who always lounged like a lazy cat at any gathering, watching and then vanishing—dancing? And not just that, he was leading Lena with more courtesy than most gentlemen. The nobles in the banquet hall were all focused on Lena and Nihil amid this extraordinary scene.
“Why is the Emperor dancing?”
Rin whispered. Deka answered.
“The Emperor praised Lady Lena and told her to ask for anything she wanted, and she requested a dance.”
Rin stifled a hollow laugh at Deka’s reply. Typical Lena Rubel. Fresh from one brush with death, she dives into another to dance. Rin watched her and Nihil with a strange sense of joy. Or more precisely, he was too busy watching Lena. In her gown, Lena was beautiful. She was always lovely, but in this deliberate elegance, he couldn’t look away. He suddenly wondered how she had entered. Alone? Escorted by the Southern Duke? How had everyone reacted to her? He could find out easily enough, but Rin kept his mouth shut. Showing up late and missing his fiancée’s entrance, then prying from the sidelines—it was too embarrassing. Besides, he wanted to hear about Lena from Lena herself. With that thought, Rin slowly descended to the main hall. He planned to approach her once the dance ended. Soon, the music faded, and the dance stopped. The Emperor, who had been exchanging words with her nonstop during the dance, left her in the middle of the hall as if discarding her. Rin moved to fill the Emperor’s place and approached Lena, who turned to him with a soft smile, as if she had known he was there all along. As she approached with a smile, Rin whispered.
“Your health…….”
But the moment Rin began, Lena brushed past him. As if she hadn’t been approaching him at all, as if he just happened to be in her path—a cold, indifferent motion. Stunned as she suddenly passed by, Rin froze. Then, as if reading his reaction, Lena whispered from behind.
“Thank you for helping me.”
Rin, who had thought she was ignoring him, barely relaxed. But her next words left him lost again.
“I’ll repay the debt for sure.”
With that, Lena left him. Rin stood rooted, following her retreating figure with his eyes. In the meantime, new music began. Many gentlemen and ladies paired up and entered the hall. But Lena, who should have been his partner, left him behind and took another man’s hand. The next one she chose was the Northern Prince, Rubid Plenus. . . .
“What?”
Rubid, who had been dragged to the victory banquet against his will, stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His foul mood was plain, keeping everyone away from him. To such a Rubid, Lena approached with a smile and said.
“Dance with me.”
“Are you insane?”
As expected, Rubid snapped first.
“What’s this? You think we’re buddies now? Just because we talked a bit…….”
Before Rubid could say more, Lena flashed a bright smile and grabbed his hand. Or rather, she twisted and yanked it. At her grip strength, Rubid recalled nightmares from the past. As he started to flare up, Lena whispered sweetly.
“Dance with me. Just once.”
“Why should I!”
“Read the room a little.”
“No……!”
Lena grew a bit annoyed at Rubid’s lack of tact, consideration, or even camaraderie from their shared battles. But desperate for a partner now, she knew it was low but whispered softly in his ear anyway.
“You really want to pick a fight with me right now?”
“Ugh……!”
At Lena’s loaded threat, Rubid glared at her like some notorious thug. But with more than one story she could spill that would ruin him, he couldn’t argue further. Grudgingly, Rubid took Lena’s hand and stepped into the hall. The music started again, and like the others, they faced each other, hands clasped in their own moment. But their scene was anything but romantic. Rubid’s face was a mess from being forced into something he hated, and Lena looked embarrassed about nagging him into it. Trying to lighten the mood, Lena whispered softly.
“This reminds me of the day we first met.”
“Bullshit. What’s your game?”
But Rubid was merciless. When Lena just smiled without answering, he pressed again.
“If you want to dance, ask your fiancé. He was here earlier.”
Sharp or oblivious? Lena knew, of course. With her fiancé present, dancing with him was the natural next step. That was exactly why. The reason Lena dragged Rubid out to dance. She wanted to block Rin from approaching her. . . . At the bottom of her consciousness, in that layered darkness, when she first heard Rin’s voice, the emotion Lena felt was sadness. She didn’t know why. It was just so sad. For some reason, it reminded her of childhood, when she first returned to the main house from the villa. Amid the heart-wrenching pain, the one who came for her felt so desperately needed that Lena hugged him without thinking. The moment she wrapped her arms around him fully, countless words swirled in her mouth. Is it really you? Are you real? How did you get here? She wanted to ask so much, but not a single one escaped her lips. Because the prison-like dream shattered the instant she hugged him back. Lena finally opened her eyes in the early afternoon. Uni and the Southern Duke were by her side, and Rin lay on the bed opposite. As Lena awoke, Uni cried out and threw herself at her.
“Miss, I thought you’d never wake up!”
Uni wailed those words, and the Southern Duke, watching from the side, sighed deeply with a face aged ten years. Lena asked what happened, but the Southern Duke urged her on, saying there was no time.
“Hurry and get ready. If you’re late to the banquet today, who knows what the Emperor will do.”
Lena wanted to stay until Rin woke. But pushed by everyone, she had to move to the dressing room. There, with Uni and the maids’ help as she dressed, she heard the rough outline. The Emperor had raged over the collapse of Do-um Palace, nearly killed one of the dukes but held back, and instead, resentful of Lena Rubel still abed, decided to kill her if she didn’t attend the next day’s banquet. Lena feigned surprise at the events during her collapse. At the same time, she understood. Why Rin had searched for her so desperately.
“Wait!
I’ll come get you!”
While her hair was washed with rose water, Rin’s voice echoed. His expression, tone, gestures from then. Her heart stirred, and suddenly her chest ached inside. At the inexplicable pain, Lena breathed deeply to calm herself.
‘When Rin wakes, I’ll thank him first.’
Lena tried to think rationally. Reminding herself, as she had in that trapped consciousness, that they were allies, Rin was a good person, and she was still a useful card. But the rising unease wouldn’t settle, and after fidgeting silently, Lena finally muttered a verse inwardly.
‘You are the cold dream of midsummer.’
Lena sighed at the habitual verse that came to mind.
“Ah…….”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I’m fine.”
She smiled at Uni, who was drying her hair. But inside, she swallowed bitterness. Of all poems, why this one? “You are the cold dream of midsummer. Thinking you came like the first snow, I reached out, only to find shattered dreams leaving cold longing in empty places. In the fleeting night, I alone remain, lost and weeping, searching for you again—a midsummer dream.” A poem by poet Bitra, mourning his deceased sister. He had an older sister three years his senior. But he died young, and Bitra, deeply devoted to his family, wrote this grieving her. She had always liked it, but its meaning never pierced her so deeply before. In the prison Hiems Grasha created, Lena couldn’t reach out to Rin even seeing him. Fearing, like the poet, futile grasping leading to disappointment and collapse. But when Rin came again, Lena couldn’t hold back and reached out. The warmth of that moment still lingered, so she squeezed her eyes shut. And realized. Chanting that they were allies, Rin was good, she was useful—it was just an excuse. Lena painfully admitted she was pretending otherwise. And vowed.
‘When Rin wakes, I’ll say thank you.’
That she survived thanks to him, escaped her worst fear thanks to him. So, thank you. She resolved to greet him that way. But that resolve crumbled the moment she saw Rin. . . .
“This is ridiculous. Who are you showing off for? Rubel? Huh? Dancing with the Emperor and then me—think that makes you something?”
Lena thought Rubid’s interpretation was refreshingly novel. Quite plausible, too. So if anyone asked why, she’d use his excuse: ‘to show off connections.’ Grumbling all the while, Rubid still stepped properly. Under the music, they looked convincingly paired. As Rubid said, Lena, dancing with the Emperor then the Northern Prince, drew immense attention. Especially nobles recalling the clash between Lena and Rubid at the previous night’s event were shocked by the shift. They secretly clicked their tongues, gauging the power dynamics Lena had conquered. The Emperor’s favorite, proxy of the Southern Duke, fiancée of the Eastern Duke, and friend to the Northern Prince. No one in the palace could call Lena an outsider anymore. Asking Rubid to dance was quite a declaration, pressuring the watching Marquis Rubel considerably, but Lena had no mind for that. Countless gazes bore down. But they weren’t in her sight. Her consciousness fixed on one person alone, one she couldn’t face. Surely, Lena had meant to greet Rin when he woke. To share her feelings from when he came. But seeing him, her words vanished. So that was it. To buy time, she charged at the most conspicuous red target. Realizing it was Rubid came a beat late. So she desperately asked him to dance. Because she felt Rin’s eyes on her. Lena wanted to greet Rin. To fully express her gratitude. But she couldn’t. She really didn’t want to admit it, but Lena was shaken now.