Only the sound of the fireplace burning echoed loudly in the quiet room.
The room, which should have been filled with warm comfort chasing away the darkness, was instead filled with stiff and hardened air.
In that atmosphere, Emma repeatedly pressed and released her innocent fingers.
Aden, who had been staring at the repetitive hand gestures born of awkwardness and embarrassment, briefly closed and opened his eyes.
Even as he tried to hide his emotions, his gaze was tinged with deep contempt.
He simply could not understand. It was no surprise that the people of old, who could not understand or accept the Kan tribe, were shocked.
The Habertz of the past, the Kan tribe of that time, were even more cruel, violent, and barbaric.
Tens of thousands had their heads cut off by the Kan tribe’s hands, and the blood of the Empire’s people spilled on the Send Plateau would have formed rivers and more.
Even without seeing it directly, there was no need to consider the extent of contempt from those who grew up hearing about it.
“…That’s all.”
At Aden’s cold rebuke, Emma’s appearance of reciting long excuses about why she made such a choice and why she disobeyed Ludmila seemed almost noble for a moment.
But in the end, it was just self-defense.
It was Ludmila’s decision, whom she regarded as her own child.
Moreover, even if she considered her like her own daughter, it was a relationship with clear hierarchy.
Until the end, Ludmila worried about the well-being of Emma, her nanny, and arranged a place for her to live.
Even Aden was impressed by the thoughtfulness and sincerity of thinking of the person who raised her while choosing to flee to survive.
Seeing that, Emma should have respected Ludmila’s choice. But she ignored Ludmila’s decision and blatantly returned to the Erdi Marquis’s house.
Moreover, Emma herself said she knew how bad the relationship between the Marquis and Marchioness Erdi was.
How unhappy Ludmila’s life had been, full of coercion, violence, and verbal abuse.
In the end, Emma’s stubbornness and prejudice nearly ruined the plan of Ludmila, whom she cherished dearly, almost like a daughter, and almost dragged her into the abyss.
“Stay here and don’t come out for a while.”
The long silence was broken right after the pile of firewood in the fireplace collapsed, making a noise.
Aden, who had risen from his seat, turned around with his hands in his pockets. Holding a poker, Aden stirred between the logs in the fireplace.
“If we try to get you out of the capital right away, Marquis Erdi’s eyes will follow. Unless the surveillance is weak. Moving recklessly while it’s obvious who took you would be like revealing Ludmila’s location.”
Aden’s eyes were extremely dry as he opened a box and threw more dry fuel into the fireplace.
“For a while, a lot of attention will be focused on my side. So don’t wander outside and stay here quietly. That’s how you can help Ludmila.”
His voice was as cold as his gaze.
After stirring for a while to make sure the fuel caught fire well, he slightly furrowed his brow.
Aden had wanted to avoid getting directly involved in this matter if possible.
If he got involved, Marquis Erdi’s eyes would follow, and this would create a small pretext that could lead to Ludmila.
That man wouldn’t be just a well-dressed fool. He would surely try to probe about the incident with Emma, even if not openly but subtly.
‘…I’ll have to stay one more day.’
A subtle irritation washed over him.
When he realized that there was another reason for this irritation beyond simply being caught up in a troublesome affair, a fleeting look of dejection crossed Aden’s face.
The capital was too dazzling, noisy, and desolate that it hurt his eyes.
He wanted to go back. That unspoken desire parched his mouth.
“Um…”
When Aden put down the poker on the box after confirming that the fire had caught well, a quiet voice was heard from beside him.
As his golden eyes fell on her, Emma bit her lip and flinched, but soon straightened her back.
“Is, is Lady Ludmila alright? She’s doing well, right?”
To worry about Ludmila in this situation. Aden’s lips slowly twisted.
If she had such worries, she should have asked him or Ludmila about her well-being instead of hastily seeking out Marquis Erdi. She was troublesome in many ways.
“She’s doing well. At least she smiles more than when she was staying on this side.”
“That’s a relief. I thought…”
As she sighed in relief and dropped her shoulders, a low voice flowed from her mouth and hesitated.
Emma’s expression didn’t particularly change as she swallowed the rest of her words, but it was clear that what she had swallowed was a prejudice related to Habertz.
His eyebrows twitched for a moment, but Aden didn’t bother to show it.
There was no need to forcibly draw out unspoken words and find fault with them.
“There won’t be anyone coming and going in this mansion. I’ll assign servants and maids, so tell them if you need anything. I’ll contact you later and help you leave the capital then.”
“I understand.”
“Ah, and.”
Aden, who had picked up the coat precariously hanging next to the mantelpiece, turned around with a short exclamation.
“There’s a dagger in the bedside table. A dagger about this long.”
Emma’s head tilted slightly at his sudden mention of a dagger.
Aden stared at Emma for a moment before jerking his chin.
“If someone barges in here and tries to take you away, stab yourself in the neck with that dagger.”
“…Pardon?”
A distorted voice came from Emma’s mouth. Of course, Aden’s eyes remained coldly sunken, regardless.
“If you’re dragged away, you’ll be subjected to severe torture. Better to just die than to die after suffering pain.”
“…”
“And that would be for Ludmila’s sake.”
It was terribly rational, cold, and at the same time cruel.
As Emma swallowed, Aden looked at her expression and twisted the corner of his mouth.
“It might be difficult to understand and confusing, but I didn’t do this expecting your understanding. I saved you in the first place because I know how Ludmila feels about you, not at all because of my own will.”
“That…”
“If you follow my rules, I don’t leave weaknesses alone. I remove them. You are Ludmila’s weakness and at the same time a threat to Habertz. Logically speaking, it would be better to kill you. Both in the long term and short term. Yet you’re still breathing because Ludmila follows you like a parent.”
Even if that parent-like figure betrayed her life-risking will.
Although the pure nature of this noble woman, who was frustratingly irrational from an emotional standpoint, was an incomprehensible aspect to Aden, he still had to follow it.
“I hope you don’t betray her wishes. And make sure I don’t regret this choice I made today. Well, have a good night. The outside guards will watch over the rest of the dawn.”
Aden, who had briefly bowed his head, turned around. Dawn was beginning to break.
The problems that needed to be dealt with urgently hastened his steps.
Emma, who had been watching his back as he quickly left the room, slowly sat down in the chair. His voice echoed in her ears.
Emma sighed at Aden’s repeating voice.
The realization that her mistake had ruined things tormented her.
Moreover, Aden’s attitude of understanding Ludmila better than her, who had watched over Ludmila for over 20 years, brought even deeper shame.
[This is the timeline separator]“Haa-.”
Celia, who sighed deeply, buried her face in her palms.
Just now, the report handed over by her husband’s aide dropped like a bomb on Celia’s head, bringing despair, helplessness, and embarrassment.
‘It failed.’
The aide summarized the matter related to Emma that Celia had instructed in a plain single word. Failure. This also meant that the danger had been exposed externally.
If Celia’s order to carry out torture was revealed, the Vyrn Count’s family would be finished.
No, to be precise, she would be finished. Her husband would be ready to abandon her at any time.
Knowing that discarding only her for the sake of the family would be the most rational thing to do, Celia could only bite her lips tightly.
The only fortunate thing was that it wouldn’t affect the Erdi Marquis family.
Although she was an arrogant countess, she was not a sister who would lie to her brother.
Her words to Kedilen that she would not let any harm come to him were the truth without a spoonful of lies mixed in.
And it wasn’t just for Kedilen’s sake. Her brother was her biggest protection, someone she could turn to for help if needed.
“…Have you tracked the location?”
Celia, who lifted her face from her palms, asked carefully. The aide shook his head slightly. As a sigh escaped her lips, the aide hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Ah, but we’ve identified who took her away.”
“That’s fortunate. Who is it?”
She needed to silence them, even if it meant throwing money at them.
The aide, who had been staring at her face as her expression relaxed at this somewhat fortunate thought, carefully opened his mouth.
“It’s said to be a black-haired man with golden eyes.”
“Golden…”
There weren’t that many men with such distinctive features in the capital.
Among those few men, only one person came to Celia’s mind who could rescue Emma at such a perfect timing.
‘…Duke Habertz.’
The aide put down the document containing the man’s description.
“It seems they didn’t even try to silence the slum residents who witnessed the scene because there were too many. Thanks to that, we were able to get a clear description of his appearance and features.”
“It’s not that they didn’t try to silence them.”
Celia’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the strangely familiar portrait drawn on the back of the document.
“Rather, it’s like he’s telling us to find him.”
He diverts the attention that could have rolled towards Emma to himself.
His action based on that simple intention paved a path for Celia.
“Prepare a carriage for me. And locate Duke Habertz, he should still be in the capital, and let me know.”
“Understood.”
Celia, who had been watching the aide’s back as he left the room, let out a deep breath.
She had to resolve this matter somehow. To do that, the help of Kedilen, the Marquis Erdi, alone was not enough. She needed that person’s help.
‘…I have no choice.’
Although not a particularly welcome counterpart…
Celia sighed as she rose from her seat.
__________
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.