DEDLB | Ch 16

Episode 16 — Restless Thoughts

“…Just feeling tired, that’s all.”
Only after Yvonne and Lucy were alone in the bedchamber did she lower her voice and finally say it.

“And I’m worried about the man we left under the carriage.”
“Oh.”

Lucy sighed deeply. Even she — who was quick to scold and quick to growl — seemed truly worried about Ricardo.
“We won’t be able to relax until night falls, I guess…”

“He said he’d give a sign once he gets out safely. We just have to wait.”
Yvonne spoke calmly, trying to soothe Lucy. Inside, she felt unsettled too, but she couldn’t show it. Even if she no longer wanted the same things, she was still the lawful Crown Princess of Sildron and had to keep up appearances.

“Why are you being so kind to that rude man? I really don’t get it,” Lucy asked quietly as she brought Yvonne a glass of water with lemon. She’d been holding back her questions for a while, but now she had to ask.

Yvonne took the glass slowly and spoke deliberately. “I can’t say everything, but… he’s someone who can help me.”
“Help you? Can the cursed Wolf of Naha help you? What do you mean?”

“Cursed wolf…” Yvonne repeated, thinking. She knew people called Ricardo the “Wolf of Naha” — a nickname from his brutal reputation roaming the rough Naha lands. She’d heard rumors he was cursed, but she didn’t know the details.

Lucy leaned in and lowered her voice. “You might not know, but you can tell by his eyes. Red eyes…”
“Red eyes…” Yvonne echoed.

Eyes the color of fresh blood. Unusual, frightening. People avoided such things. But red eyes alone don’t explain curses — there was more.

“Do you know the old story about five red stars?” Lucy whispered. “When Ricardo Aldric was born in Naha, they say five red stars appeared in the sky.”
Yvonne’s skin prickled. She’d read something like that in an old legend once.

“Those five red stars supposedly mean the child will cause the death of his parents and bring ruin to the world.”
Hearing that, Yvonne’s eyes widened. She’d read fragments of the legend — five red stars in the dawn sky were the worst omen.

“Maybe that’s why his parents died shortly after he was born. The Duke’s parents — I heard his father died in an avalanche a few days after Ricardo was born, and his mother died from childbirth complications soon after.”
“And then he was raised by his guardian.”

A chill ran through Yvonne. If the legend was true, it sounded like the child had literally taken his parents’ lives. Even a woman who didn’t trust fate found that story disturbing.

“That must be why opinions in the palace split about him. Some think the curse is real and he’ll bring doom, others don’t.” Lucy said quietly.

Yvonne’s mind drifted deeper. In the lives she’d lived before, Ricardo had led rebellions twice and shaken the continent. Once, she didn’t even live long enough to see the insurrection. Was he really a walking curse destined to destroy the world? She rubbed her forehead, thinking hard.

But whether or not he was cursed didn’t change one thing for her: Ricardo was a tool for her revenge. Still, one thought nagged her — Nobody would want to stay with him. The idea itself felt oddly sentimental for someone who’d been praised as cold and rational. She shook the thought away.

She couldn’t stop remembering how he’d ruffled her hair without care. Why was she worried about him? There was no reason to give him human concern. Yet she did. She couldn’t explain it to herself.

Lucy’s voice brought her back. “Still, he’s a nasty, unpleasant man.” Most people felt like Lucy — wary of a man with red eyes and such a dark story. “I think you should keep your distance. That’s honest advice.”

Yvonne smiled faintly and patted Lucy’s shoulder. “Being near him won’t make me cursed. Don’t worry.”
“But—” Lucy hesitated.

“He may be cursed in other people’s eyes, but he can still be a man who helps me,” Yvonne answered, smiling to buy time. She couldn’t give Lucy the full explanation yet. One day, when the time was right, she’d tell her everything.

Guilty about not answering properly, she changed the subject. “By the way, when is the shoemaker supposed to arrive? Did you hear anything?”
“Ah, yes. He’s coming before dinner. He said he’ll have your new shoes ready before midnight.”

The Emperor was very considerate, Lucy said with a small sigh. She knew better than anyone how Yvonne had been treated coldly in court. Yvonne smiled, running a hand through the bit of hair Ricardo had grazed.

As Lucy had told her, the shoemaker arrived an hour and a half before the banquet and knocked on the Empress’s chamber. While Yvonne tried on new shoes, she kept checking the time. Midnight felt so far away — each minute moved like a year.

If all went as planned, at midnight the guards around the carriages would change shifts. Ricardo would slip out, meet the thieves’ guild contact at the garden’s back path, and escape the summer palace grounds. Yvonne silently prayed that the plan worked and he got out safely.

While she worried, Frederick — sitting opposite — called her name and brought her back to the table. “Yvonne.”
“….”
“Yvonne.” This time, she snapped to attention and looked up into Frederick’s curious, bright eyes.

“What were you thinking about? I called you, but you didn’t respond.”
She made something up on the spot. “I was worrying about the plants in the greenhouse. I usually care for them myself. I wondered if they’d be all right without me.”

“They’ll be fine. The servants will take care of them,” Frederick said with a smile. Yvonne nodded.

Since Ricardo had suddenly intruded into her life, she kept getting distracted — even when the Emperor sat across from her. Thoughts kept circling back to him. She didn’t like how unfocused she was, but she didn’t know how to stop.

Knowing that staying at the banquet any longer might make her slip up, Yvonne rose and bowed.