Chapter 79
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
“Will you invite my father?”
“If you dislike it.”
“…And if I’m okay with it?”
“Then I won’t invite him.”
Emilia’s face contorted in frustration. She threw off her hat and glared at him.
“What do you want with me?”
“What did it look like I wanted you to do?”
He kept avoiding her questions. Emilia felt her insides twisted and brought a surge of anger.
He had a nonchalant face. She wanted to spit in the face of the Duke, who asked her back.
“I did wonder about you, thinking perhaps there was something more. But now, it seems utterly ridiculous.”
Her green eyes that looked at him, seemed to have lost their light, appearing dull.
“It couldn’t be. If you were from the Stein royal family, there would have been ample reasons to exterminate those similar to you.”
It’s said that seeing one comes to know ten; witnessing his devilish nature made her understand the cause of the rebellion.
The Stein royal line must have been filled with hypocrisy and ugliness.
A strange light flickered in his red eyes, resembling a torch burning endlessly without end.
Emilia felt like his gaze seemed capable of engulfing everything, turning her into ashes without a trace.
“You really annoy me to the end.”
Was it a lack of fear because her life was wasted?
For the first time, her resistance didn’t sit well with him. The moment she spoke of the Stein royal family, his mind whitened with rage.
He suppressed the urge to strangle her.
But if she wished for death, perhaps it was okay to grant her wish? What if she acted ignorant despite knowing everything just to save her own life?
“Do you believe the facts you know to be the truth?”
“At least now I do. Your Grace has convinced me.”
“You didn’t think so from the start?”
“Not all history contains only the truth.”
Mikhail struggled to extinguish the flames of anger burning within him.
“So if my thoughts were wrong, it solely originates from you. However, looking at it differently, it also proves that you’re certainly not someone who should bestow honor and mercy as a member of the royal family.”
Mikhail looked at Emilia, who seemed convinced.
“Aren’t you sorry for lying with yourself?”
“I haven’t lied.”
“So you believe because you couldn’t bear the truth if it turned out that I am indeed of royal blood and the history you knew wasn’t the truth?”
He regained his composure. He thought he was completely forgotten, yet it seems his lineage still lingered in someone’s memory.
“That’s impossible. The surnames are different… and more importantly, wasn’t the Duke from the Kingdom of Valoh?”
“Names and surnames that are merely letters are unimportant. What’s crucial is my essence, where my roots lie, right?”
Emilia’s gaze shifted to his hair. Her trembling eyes revealed her shaken beliefs.
* * *
The carriage stopped at the mansion. Emilia couldn’t hastily disembark.
Could his words be true? Could the things she hesitantly pondered actually be real?
Her heart clenched tightly. It felt as if her pulse echoed in her ears.
“You don’t really believe it’s true, do you? Not very honest, but easily deceived, I see.”
“…..”
Mikhail exited the carriage. But Emilia was still immobilized by shock.
The conversation she had with him just moments ago didn’t feel like a lie at all.
‘I need to meet my father.’
But first, she had to look into the Stein and Jalliar royal families. An indescribable anxiety was tightening around her throat.
It was as if someone was shouting, insisting that some truths should forever remain shrouded in fog, urging her not to seek them.
Emilia belatedly descended from the carriage. Her body was swaying so she barely managed to stand by leaning on the carriage.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t walk on my own.”
“I apologize, but due to my position, I cannot carry you myself. I’ll call for a knight.”
“Would you do that for me?”
Emilia watched as the servant quickly made his way into the mansion. The blazing sun made it hard to keep her eyes open.
The midday sun burned fiercely, and despite wearing a hat, the heat rising from the ground was intense.
Having been dragged out in the morning, she hadn’t had a single sip of water since then.
“Ah…”
Her vision blurred again. She tried to moisten her parched, cracked lips with her tongue, but it was only temporary relief.
“Madam.”
“Sir Byne.”
Emilia clutched at his arm while barely standing.
“I’m sorry, but could you please…”
Suddenly feeling dizzy, her head tilted back, and her strength drained away.
Emilia collapsed into Sir Byne’s arms like a sandcastle being washed away by the waves.
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