Chapter 51: I Knew You Would Come to Save Me
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 51: I Knew You Would Come to Save Me
An angel? Was he still dreaming?
I looked at Nathaniel in disbelief, then caught a glimpse of my own reflection.
Having possessed the body of Claudia, I resembled Veronica—the greatest beauty in this world—so I was certainly pretty for my age. However, my appearance was hardly what one would associate with an angel.
Pitch-black hair and purple eyes. If anything, I looked more like a symbol of a demon than an angel.
Seeing as he was calling me an angel, Nathaniel was clearly not yet fully awake.
“Um, Nathaniel?”
“I knew… you would come to save me….”
“….”
But Nathaniel continued to mumble, still drifting in and out of consciousness.
It seemed that while suffering at the hands of the Radical Faction, he had constantly dreamed of an angel coming to his rescue.
Thinking of that, my feelings of absurdity were replaced by a blooming sense of pity for him.
Letting out a short sigh, I realized it would be difficult to have a proper conversation with Nathaniel today and stood up.
“Whew. Ilnes.”
[Yeah?]
“Dollens and I have to head back now, so you take good care of him.”
If I lingered any longer, I might get caught by Veronica. Besides, once Dantalion returned to the Imperial Palace, I wouldn't be able to see Dollens for a while.
So, despite my misgivings, I had no choice but to entrust Nathaniel to Ilnes.
[Well… I guess I have to….]
“Make sure he doesn’t starve. Manipulate whoever passes by to feed him, okay?”
[I get it, I get it….]
Ilnes answered dismissively, sounding annoyed. He was as unreliable as ever, but unfortunately, I was out of time.
“Then, I’m counting on—huh?”
Just as I was about to leave him with Ilnes and return to my room, a small force stopped my movement.
Looking down, I saw a small, pale hand carefully clutching the hem of my dress.
“Don’t… go….”
“Nathaniel?”
“Please….”
“….”
Nathaniel, seemingly still trapped in that dream of an angel, murmured with a dazed expression.
His pale gray eyes, devoid of focus, trembled as they looked at me.
Seeing him like that made my heart waver for a moment.
[Master, we really must go now.]
‘…I know.’
Answering Dollens’s anxious voice in a small whisper, I stared silently at Nathaniel’s desperate face.
I had secretly spirited Nathaniel away to weaken the power of the Temple.
However, taking someone in and being responsible for them was no easy task.
I thought I had steeled my heart, but seeing Nathaniel—thoroughly broken by the Temple’s violence and clinging to a child like me—was far more pitiful than I had imagined.
Biting my lip, I reached out and cupped his pale cheek.
“It’s okay, Nathaniel. You won’t be in pain anymore. You’re safe here.”
“Ah….”
“We’ll see each other again soon. So, you can rest easy.”
“….”
Nathaniel nodded slowly and closed his eyes as if relieved.
When he was brainwashed, he couldn't even close his eyes properly, staring blankly into space with them half-open. Now, as he drifted off to sleep with steady breaths, his face looked much more peaceful than before.
“Let’s go now.”
I nodded and spoke to Dollens.
Turning away, I hoped to see a more whole version of Nathaniel the next time we met.
*
“Do you truly intend to keep Veronica by your side, Your Majesty?”
Duke Winston asked, looking at Dantalion with a dark expression.
Dantalion replied in a serious tone.
“I absolutely need the Lady.”
“A daughter from another house could surely be of help to Your Majesty. And even if you do not marry her, our House Winston will—”
“You know that isn’t all there is to it, Duke.”
“….”
In front of a subject pledging his loyalty, Dantalion spoke with the face of a man in love.
The Duke fell silent. He knew all too well that Dantalion had cared for Veronica since they were children.
‘At first, I thought he just cherished Berry like a younger sister.’
Dantalion, who got along well with the eldest son, Vincent, often envied him because he had no siblings of his own.
That was why Veronica often tagged along when Vincent was summoned to the Imperial Palace as Dantalion’s playmate.
Duke Winston had noticed sooner than anyone that the way Dantalion looked at Veronica changed with each passing year.
However, the situation of the Imperial Family at the time was far too precarious, and in the end, the Duke could not prevent Dantalion, then the Crown Prince, from being driven away to the Western Frontier.
Dantalion, too, had no choice but to give up on Veronica due to his uncertain future. And the Duke had turned a blind eye to his feelings.
He disliked Cedric, but he couldn't send Veronica to Dantalion, who was a powerless Crown Prince at the time.
Although the current Dantalion was completely different and had even ascended the throne, the political situation was not yet fully stabilized.
“The Empress Dowager and the Temple will not sit idly by. Your Majesty surely knows how persistent they are.”
“…Of course I know.”
“The gods of the past were cowardly, but now they will not turn away from the righteous path. However… my daughter has already suffered so many wounds. I cannot bear to see her hurt in a filthy struggle any longer.”
Duke Winston continued, his voice thick with anguish. He already harbored countless regrets.
He should have been more proactive in stopping her marriage to Cedric Lionel. He should have looked after her instead of turning away after she was married.
In truth, his reason for refusing Dantalion’s proposal was partly because he regretted his past actions.
Because he did not want to repeat those mistakes, he could not allow Veronica to enter the Imperial Palace.
“Your Majesty, is spending a second marriage in the Imperial Palace truly the path to happiness for that child?”
“….”
“Can you, who watched the Imperial Family crumble all this time, truly promise that?”
It was far too insolent for a subject to say, but Dantalion could not easily answer the Duke’s question.
Both men knew all too well that a path of thorns lay ahead.
Dantalion spoke with a hardened face.
“I, too, intended to give up on Veronica with that same heart.”
Leaving his first love as just a first love.
The situation was too dire to force his tender feelings upon her, and there was a chance he might have died on the battlefield.
That was why he hadn't even considered confessing from the start.
“However, after surviving several brushes with death, I came to regret that thought.”
“…Your Majesty.”
On the battlefield, surviving each day was an arduous task.
Even on days without combat, he had to deal with assassins sent by the Empress Dowager. He had nearly died several times because of them.
Having come so close to losing his life so many times, he felt pathetic for having run away like a fool without even conveying his heart to his first love.
“If Veronica refuses, I have no intention of forcing her.”
“Is there a woman in the Empire who could refuse Your Majesty’s proposal?”
“Does the Lady look like a woman who would enter a loveless marriage to you, Duke?”
“….”
This time, it was Duke Winston who fell silent.
No matter if he was the Emperor of the Empire, the Duke knew well that Veronica had the temperament to refuse him if she wished.
The problem was that Veronica also had feelings for Dantalion.
For some reason, Dantalion himself lacked confidence and was trying to persuade the Duke first instead of her.
“I, too, will have no way to stop her if she desires it.”
“Duke.”
“So, speaking to me is ultimately a meaningless endeavor, Your Majesty.”
“….”
Dantalion hadn't spoken about Veronica from the very beginning.
Upon hearing the news that Claudia had been attacked, he had visited the Temple and sought information from Duke Winston.
The Duke told him as much as he knew, but Dantalion’s attitude was somewhat strange—as if he had an inkling of what had attacked Claudia.
After that, the Duke couldn't quite remember how the conversation had flowed, but before he knew it, Dantalion was speaking as if he wanted Veronica.
“I understand. I shall take my leave now.”
“Yes, please go safely.”
Duke Winston stood up and saw Dantalion to the door.
Since it wasn't an official visit, Dantalion wished to return quietly alone, and the Duke complied.
And when Dantalion stepped out of the Duke’s office, Veronica was standing quietly by herself in front of the opposite door.
“Berry….”
“Do you have time for a short walk in the garden, Your Majesty?”
“…I do.”
Nodding with a stiff face, Dantalion followed behind Veronica.