Chapter : 10
“Did you go to the slave market again?”
Lil asked casually as she applied scented oil to Lete’s hair.
Lete, whose eyes were closed, gave no answer, but Lil already knew the answer.
Even when her mistress had been younger than she was now, she had wandered through slave markets in unfamiliar foreign lands.
Lil had never dared to stop her mistress from going where she pleased, but she had never liked it.
“This isn’t the Empire.”
There was a complicated note in her gentle voice.
In the Empire, Lil had thought there was no helping it. After all, the Empire’s enemies were not limited to its own people.
There were countless prisoners of war who had been forcibly brought there after losing the war. And among them was the princess standing before her, likewise taken prisoner.
It was obvious who their resentment would be directed toward.
That was why, whenever Lete had wandered from one slave market to another in Cornelli, buying prisoners and setting them free, Lil had thought it was all right if doing so brought even the slightest comfort to her mistress.
But this was not the Empire.
Her enemies were far away, and the queen no longer needed to maintain an attitude as sharp as a freshly honed blade.
“So you can relax a little…”
“Lil.”
Lete had opened her eyes at some point and was staring straight at her.
It was a silent warning not to say anything more.
Lil bit her lip and lowered her head.
“…I’m sorry. I overstepped my bounds.”
After those words, silence settled over the bathroom.
Her life as a prisoner in the Empire had been humiliating, but it had not been entirely useless.
There were many countries that wanted to curry favor with the Emperor, and whenever Emperor Azad received foreign delegations, he always brought Lete along. He did so to boast about having taken the princess of Arvei prisoner and to remind her that she was nothing more than a captive.
Thanks to that, she had been able to learn in detail not only what gifts were favored by each country, but also the specialties of various regions.
Drawing upon that experience, she had eventually established a workshop herself.
From dresses and jewelry to modern weapons.
A workshop that sold everything that could be sold, except living things. That was the Maddler Workshop.
At Maddler, neither one’s origins, religion, nor even social status mattered.
The only thing that mattered was ability.
The Maddler Workshop was filled with unusual and distinctive designs that people would not normally encounter. From royalty to commoners, people from every country used it, and the workshop became another name for fashion itself.
Of course, that was a story from much farther in the future than now.
‘But how did the Duke…?’
A disturbing thought suddenly flashed through Lete’s mind, and she abruptly sat upright from her half-reclined position.
Her stunned reflection appeared on the surface of the water.
Fearing that she might scream without realizing it, she covered her mouth with her hand.
No. It couldn’t be.
No matter how persistent their ill-fated relationship was, surely not.
But if her guess was correct, then every question would be answered.
Why Albern Abihi limped.
Why he had proposed to her.
Even what he had been trying to confirm today.
“Your Majesty, are you all right? Are you feeling unwell? Shall I call a doctor?”
Lil, who had been assisting her with her bath, asked anxiously.
Perhaps because the confusion had not yet left her, Lete’s voice came out dry and cracked, as though it might break at any moment.
“I need to send an invitation to Duke Abihi.”
She had to confirm it.
Whether he had truly returned to the past just as she had.
Normally, etiquette dictated that an invitation to tea be sent at least two weeks in advance to allow sufficient preparation.
This time, however, the tea party was held only three days after the invitation was sent.
That was possible because Queen Lete had personally instructed every detail, from the location and decorations to the types of tea and refreshments.
Lil set down the tea she had prepared at Lete’s command.
“Your Majesty, Duke Abihi will be arriving soon.”
At those words, Lete sighed and closed the documents she had been reading.
“I’ll have the documents taken to my study…”
As Lil said this and reached toward the papers—
“That’s enough. They’re important documents, so I’ll have my aide take them there personally.”
Lil froze at those words, then awkwardly lowered her hand.
The atmosphere instantly became stiff, and even Jan, who had been standing beside Lete, took the hint and left with the documents.
Soon, there was a commotion near the entrance to the garden.
Lete’s eyes trembled when she saw Albern approaching with his cane.
Whether by coincidence or not, Albern was dressed similarly to what he had worn on the day she died.
Now that she looked at him, his clothes were dark and plain, almost as though he were about to attend a funeral.
“Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you for accepting such a sudden invitation.”
“Think nothing of it.”
When Lete sat down, Albern naturally took the seat opposite her.
A sweet, fragrant aroma spread around the two of them.
‘It’s Earl Grey tea brought in from the Valtal Empire.’
“It’s Earl Grey tea brought in from the Valtal Empire. Please have some first.”
She repeated Albern’s words from her memories.
If Albern had returned to the past just as she had, there was no way he would fail to notice.
She had recreated everything to remind him of the day Lete died.
Lete held her breath and waited for even the smallest reaction from Albern.
After hearing her words, Albern brought the teacup to his lips, took a sip, and then calmly said,
“Indeed, the tea prepared by the maid tasted better that day.”
“……”
“The gunshot you fired that day hurt quite a bit, Your Majesty.”
His voice was so calm and devoid of emotion that for a moment, Lete wondered if she had heard him correctly.
“I never imagined such a thing could be hidden beneath such a beautiful dress. Your Majesty always manages to exceed my expectations.”
At the same time, Lete shot to her feet.
Her chair crashed to the floor.
Paying no attention to it, Lete pointed the muzzle of her gun directly at Albern’s face.
Albern stared calmly at the gun pointed at him, showing no sign of fear.
“If you want to shoot me, then shoot.”
Albern reached out and wrapped his hand around Lete’s hand holding the revolver.
Then he pulled back the revolver’s hammer.
Click.
The sound of it being cocked rang especially loudly.
“However, if I die, there will be no way to save Arvei ever again.”
“Your death is how Arvei will be saved.”
“If you truly believe that, then shoot.”
With that, Albern released her hand as though he had no regrets whatsoever.
He was leaving the choice entirely up to Lete.
“If I die, it will take less than a week for Arvei to collapse.”
“I don’t know where you get that confidence.”
“I simply believe in the future I have lived through.”
With that, he let out a low laugh.
Lete’s hand twitched at the sound.
She had watched him for ten years, but she had never seen this Albern Abihi.
She did not know a man who could smile so darkly and self-deprecatingly.
“Did you know?”
Albern lowered his voice as though he were sharing a secret.
The only reason Lete had not pulled the trigger was because this version of Albern Abihi was so unfamiliar to her.
“After Your Majesty died, it took Arvei only a month to collapse.”
He still wore a smile on his lips.
“After Your Majesty died, a civil war broke out.”
“If it were you, wouldn’t you have anticipated even that?”
“Yes. I anticipated it. But I never expected there to be idiots willing to open the gates of the royal palace to the Empire, using the civil war as an excuse to bring their army in.”
“What?”
“There are genuine traitors in the capital.”
“……I can’t believe it.”
Her voice came out unable to conceal her confusion.
Without letting the hostility in her eyes fade, Lete spoke sharply.
“Even if what you say is true, you and I are no different.”
“We are different.”
Albern rose from his seat.
Unlike Lete’s chair, which had fallen backward with a harsh scraping sound, his chair slid smoothly backward without making a sound.
“Because from now on, I intend to protect Your Majesty in order to protect Arvei.”
Lete let out a hollow laugh at his words.
“Before that, you should think about how you’re going to survive this room.”
“Your Majesty will spare my life.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I hold the security of Arvei, Your Majesty’s greatest weakness, in my hands. If you kill me, the past will repeat itself.”
The hand holding the gun trembled faintly.
He was right.
Lete knew that there were people who were clinging to Cornelli in order to survive, despite Cornelli being the very nation that had brought Arvei to this state.
But she had not known that they possessed enough influence to open the gates of the royal palace.
She still pointed the gun at him, her hostility toward him undiminished, but the option of pulling the trigger had left her mind long ago.
There was no way she could do anything that might bring even the slightest harm to Arvei.
‘If that’s the case, then perhaps…’
“If I marry you, can I protect Arvei?”
“I will protect it.”
His firm voice gave Lete confidence in her choice.
“You will have to prove yourself with everything you have. If your words are lies, I will throw my own life away if necessary to make sure you fall into hell.”
“To fall together with Your Majesty would be an honor even for a servant such as myself.”
Lete slowly lowered the hand holding the gun.
She inhaled as though preparing herself mentally, then finally opened her mouth.
“Albern Abihi.”
She genuinely wanted to protect this country.
So, a marriage like this…
“I appoint you as my consort.”
She could do it ten times.
A hundred times.
