Chapter 137
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you this corsage.”
Despite the lady’s refusal, Regina didn’t back down.
“I really want it.”
She tilted her head slightly and, with delicate fingers, removed her earrings.
They were sapphire earrings adorned with dozens of diamonds.
Under Regina’s touch, the earrings slipped from her ears into the palm of her hand.
“I’ll give you these earrings. Please give me the corsage.”
The lady couldn’t help letting out a frustrated sigh at the absurd situation.
She looked at the Emperor and the Grand Duke standing behind Regina.
Regina was a lifelong councilor who enjoyed the Emperor’s support. Anything she owned would surely be of immense value.
And yet she wanted to trade such precious earrings just for a corsage.
The lady shook her head and refused again.
“Miss Regina, these earrings aren’t worth enough to trade for the corsage.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
Ignoring the lady’s warnings, Regina raised both hands to undo her necklace.
Everyone around her held their breath, realizing what she intended.
She was about to offer a necklace with gems several times larger than her earrings.
Was she a naive country girl who didn’t understand the value of things?
Even as quiet sighs of regret spread around her, Regina struggled to remove the necklace.
“Miss Regina.”
The Emperor, who had been watching her closely, spoke softly.
Was he about to stop her?
“I’ll help you.”
Rather than stopping her, the Emperor helped Regina undo the necklace and handed it to her.
The Grand Duke quietly observed, simply drawing in a deep breath.
Amid everyone’s attention, Regina politely greeted Walter.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
By now, the earrings and necklace lay in Regina’s palm.
“Madam, I’ll give you these earrings and necklace. Please give me the corsage.”
The lady shook her head at the unreasonable proposal.
Even as a set, these earrings and necklace could buy enough to cover the entire palace in corsages. She couldn’t understand why Regina insisted on the black corsage.
“Shall I give you something else too?”
The lady firmly stopped Regina from even attempting to remove a golden hairpin.
“Miss Regina, I don’t mean to say the value isn’t enough.”
Before the lady could finish her refusal, Regina spoke.
“I will cherish it.”
Regina took a breath, steadying her voice.
“I will treasure it. So please, give it to me.”
So earnest was her plea that the lady looked at her in stunned silence.
Regina’s eyes sparkled clearer than the blue sapphires of her necklace.
The lady’s resolve weakened.
Even if the corsage could be remade with meaning, could she really trade such priceless items for it?
Unable to decide, the lady hesitated.
Eventually, Aaron, seeing the stalemate, stepped in.
“Madam, accept her request.”
“But—”
“Madam. This is an order.”
The lady looked at the Grand Duke, who spoke with an authoritative voice.
It was the Grand Duke, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, giving an order.
His gray gaze was firm.
Realizing she could no longer refuse, the lady quietly moved her hand.
She removed the corsage from her chest and handed it to Regina.
“Thank you.”
Regina gave the earrings and necklace to the lady.
On the surface, two items of completely different value had been exchanged.
Yet Regina held the corsage as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
The lady watching her was struck by a strange emotion.
“Could it be… you… our son—”
Her words never finished.
The Grand Duke’s heavy gray gaze silenced her completely.
Seeing the lady fall silent, Aaron suggested to the Emperor:
“Your Majesty, we should hurry to the Rasys Pond. It’ll be quite cold once the sun sets in autumn.”
Walter, assessing the situation, quickly agreed.
“That would be best, Grand Duke.”
The Emperor escorted Regina outside.
The Grand Duke dispersed the gazes of the nobles, organizing the situation.
“Enjoy the wine and food Your Majesty has provided and have a pleasant time.”
He glanced at the lady as he addressed the nobles in the hall.
“Because it’s a precious time made possible by someone’s noble sacrifice.”
With that cryptic remark, the Grand Duke turned and followed the Emperor.
The Emperor, the Grand Duke, and Regina left the hall.
The lady left alone watched their retreating figures.
The warmth of the earrings and necklace, still touched by Regina, seeped into her palm.
Late-autumn winds swirled through the palace gardens.
In the vast palace grounds, Regina walked lightly.
The breeze brushing past her also reached Aaron and Walter, who followed at a distance.
“I think I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
Aaron spoke as he watched Regina’s distant figure.
“What Regina—or rather Del—intends to do here.”
Walter’s gaze also followed her through the wind.
She still hadn’t looked back, only moving forward.
It was clear she didn’t know where the Rasys Pond was.
Even though she was heading in the wrong direction, she didn’t stop walking.
Aaron and Walter didn’t intervene.
They merely followed from afar.
Three shadows quietly blended into the palace grounds.
“What is it?”
“The Stullen Peace Treaty.”
It was an agreement between the two nations left without closure after the fall of Iorenti.
“She wants to finalize the peace treaty that couldn’t be completed in Iorenti.”
Aaron recalled her past actions.
She had worked with Arucanus to investigate the forces threatening Iorenti, sending spies to gather intelligence.
She facilitated trade between Iorenti and the Empire and invited prominent Iorenti scholars to the Empire.
And…
“That lady earlier… she’s the mother of my deputy.”
Dyke Leberini, who had died protecting Delia under Aaron’s orders.
Delia had clearly recognized his mother.
And understood the significance of the black corsage.
“She probably wanted to help her.”
As if comforting the Imperial Army that had fought for Iorenti.
Regina still held the black corsage tightly.
Its scent wafted subtly through the garden on the autumn breeze.
“And…”
Regina’s voice, speaking her inner thoughts, returned in Aaron’s mind.
Back when all she wished for was death.
Del recounted that period calmly.
Her blue eyes glistened, nearly bursting.
Yet, as if knowing it wasn’t the time, she shed not a single tear.
Aaron watched Regina, unease rising within him.
“She keeps trying to reconcile us.”
Walter, surprised, turned to look at Aaron.
“As if she wants to give me a final gift.”
Like decorating the final chapter of a story.
Regina was tying up all the matters around her, one by one.
“As if she’s leaving me in your care before she goes.”
Walter’s gaze, deep and heavy, followed her.
Then and now, he couldn’t look away from her, struggling forward without knowing where she was going.
To him, it was just… pity. Sympathy. Nothing more.
“Then we can’t let her go.”
Walter draped his arm over Aaron’s shoulder, catching him by surprise.
Aaron, usually arrogant and haughty, was uneasy because of the tension she caused.
It was rare to see him like this.
Her mere presence was enough.
Walter laughed, having made his decision clearly.
He pressed against Aaron’s shoulder playfully.
“There’s no way we can reconcile. You have so many grudges against me.”
Aaron scowled.
He hated Walter’s teasing smile, which reminded him of their childhood when things were simpler.
“I’ll never forgive you for leaving so carelessly.”
Walter whispered to Aaron, his voice low enough that Regina couldn’t hear.
“I’ll hold onto Miss Regina so you’ll never leave again.”
The calm, serious voice carried a faint hint of mischief.
“And as long as Miss Regina is with me, you’ll never escape my grasp.”
Aaron stared at Walter, dumbfounded.
Clearly, he was teasing him.
Because of her, he had shown weakness in front of his older brother.
Flustered, Aaron pushed Walter’s arm away, grumbling.
“It’s heavy. Let go.”
“No.”
Instead, Walter playfully looped his arm around Aaron’s neck, making him struggle.
Aaron thrashed, caught at Walter’s side.
The playful dynamic mirrored their childhood selves; it was hard to tell who was older or younger.
“Let go.”
Aaron pushed Walter’s chest seriously.
But the tighter he pushed, the stronger Walter’s hold became.
He tousled Aaron’s silver hair mercilessly.
“Try calling me ‘older brother’ while acting like that.”
“Who would take advantage of their younger brother? Not you, that’s for sure.”
Aaron’s defiance intensified.
Even as Walter’s hand pounded his chest, he wouldn’t release him.
“If you acted like a proper younger brother, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s all my fault anyway.”
“So, say ‘older brother.’”
“Will you let go already?”
The two bickering and wrestling finally stopped.
“Um…”
Regina had stopped and turned around, watching them.
A chilly autumn wind swept past the three of them.
In the distance, a crow cawed ominously.
Ahem.
Walter quickly released Aaron and adjusted his crooked cravat.
Aaron straightened himself, fixing the collar of his rumpled jacket.
As if nothing had happened, the brothers casually asked after Regina.
“What’s the matter?”
“Why? Need help with something?”
Regina’s eyes, clearer than the sapphire necklace she had given the Leberini lady, focused on Aaron and Walter.
Her voice floated in the autumn breeze.
“I don’t know where we are.”
She had been walking blindly, lost in thought.
Hearing the commotion behind her, she realized she had wandered into an unknown place.
They surely knew she was going in the wrong direction.
Why hadn’t anyone stopped her?
As if hearing her question, Aaron replied indifferently.
“Does it matter?”
He strode toward her with long steps, shielding her from the cooler wind, and draped her delicate, embroidered jacket over her slender shoulders.
Walter approached from the side, rubbing her neck gently.
“Since we’re out for a walk, don’t worry about it.”
The gray eyes of the two brothers, so alike, rested on Regina.
Where she was going…
Was the place Aaron had to go.
And the place Walter was heading.
