[CHAPTER 87]
Silence settled over the area.
Faced with the sudden situation, not only Meyna but also Hugo and Biterion found it difficult to continue speaking.
The first to break the silence was Hugo.
“You mean Her Majesty the Empress ordered her to leave the banquet hall?”
He gestured toward Meyna with his eyes, wearing a deeply flustered expression.
“I sincerely apologize, but yes.”
The servant who introduced himself as Hans bowed his head deeply, clearly at a loss.
“Hmm……”
Hugo set down his wineglass and stroked his chin.
The Motenson Grand Duke and Duchess maintained close ties with the imperial family, especially with Empress Gardrien Parker.
Banze Motenson, in particular, was close enough to the Empress to dine or have tea alone with her, making her treatment of Meyna hard to understand.
“That will be all. You may go.”
After dismissing Hans with a firm tone, Hugo spoke to Meyna.
“I will go and check, Lady Winslet, so please wait here. There is no way Her Majesty would issue an order to expel you. There must be some misunderstanding.”
He smiled as if to reassure her and pressed his lips together before standing up.
“Sir.”
Biterion stopped him.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I will go.”
Biterion spoke calmly and rose without making a sound as he moved his chair.
The profile of Biterion as he watched the distant Empress, his own mother, looked somewhat rigid, though his emotions were hard to read.
Has His Highness ever spoken about his mother?
Meyna carefully retraced their past conversations.
His overwhelming power that had caused the deaths of those he loved.
His childhood spent isolating himself from the world because of it.
Among those painful stories, there had been nothing about his parents or family.
“Lady Winslet.”
Biterion called out to Meyna, who had sunk into thought.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Meyna blankly looked up at his face.
He appeared completely relaxed now, as if he considered the situation nothing more than a minor incident.
“I will check on the situation, so please do not worry too much.”
At Biterion’s warm smile, Meyna nodded with an effortful smile of her own.
At that moment, the Empress, who had been watching Biterion closely, rose from her seat.
She crossed the banquet hall with several attendants in tow.
After whispering something again to Hans, the servant Hugo had dismissed, the Empress left the hall.
Hans hurried back to Meyna’s table and delivered a similar but different order.
“I apologize, Lady Winslet. I conveyed the message incorrectly. Her Majesty wishes to speak with you alone outside the banquet hall for a moment.”
A look of confusion surfaced on Meyna’s face.
He conveyed it incorrectly?
Biterion spoke to Meyna.
“I will go out first, Lady Winslet.”
“No.”
Meyna replied calmly and added,
“She called for me, so I will go, Your Highness.”
* * *
Outside the Great Hall, Gardrien was waiting for Meyna.
“You called for me, Your Majesty.”
When Meyna bowed deeply in respect, the Empress dismissed all the attendants.
“I simply wished to speak with you alone for a bit.”
Sera Parker’s husky yet cheerful voice resembled her mother’s.
In a slightly lower and more commanding tone, the Empress continued.
“Hans, that child, seems to have delivered the message incorrectly.”
Meyna nodded.
A subtle sense of unease and doubt lingered, but she decided to set aside her complicated thoughts.
“That is a relief, Your Majesty. It is an honor that you requested this meeting.”
Gardrien smiled soundlessly at Meyna.
Being with her stirred an unavoidable discomfort deep within Meyna’s heart.
It had been the previous Emperor who framed her father, Duke Tunnel Winslet, and caused his death.
Even if he was long gone, the imperial family as a whole was like a thorn in Meyna’s throat.
The Empress watched Meyna’s ever-changing expressions with interest and suddenly reached out her hand.
Her unbelievably cold yet soft hand cupped Meyna’s cheek.
“……!”
As Meyna flinched and hunched her shoulders, the Empress slowly spoke while examining her features closely.
“Meyna Winslet.”
“……”
“What kind of relationship do you have with Biti?”
“……”
“Ah, Biterion. It is a nickname I use for that child.”
Meyna steadied her voice.
Just as she was about to answer, the Empress’s icy hand cupped her cheek once more.
“…Your Majesty. Forgive my boldness, but I work with Prince Biterion. There is absolutely no personal relationship—”
“Pfft.”
The Empress laughed aloud and nodded.
“When he was young, I used to stroke his face just like this.”
A fleeting trace of nostalgia shimmered in her red eyes.
Her fingertips, colder than anything human, slid over Meyna’s face and brushed past her ear.
She gently tucked back Meyna’s hair, then softly rubbed the nape of her neck.
The icy touch sent chills racing down Meyna’s spine, and she squeezed her eyes shut at the unfamiliar sensation.
Tap, tap.
The Empress lightly patted Meyna’s back.
“Keep what we discussed today a secret from Biti.”
When Meyna failed to respond right away, the Empress gestured for the attendants to return and spoke.
“Well, perhaps we did not even have much of a conversation today?”
With a languid lilt to her voice, she left with the attendants.
Left alone, Meyna leaned against the wall, feeling a faint dizziness.
“Lady Winslet.”
At the familiar voice, she lifted her eyelids to see Biterion.
“Are you all right?”
“Your Highness.”
“I was worried and followed you out.”
“I am fine, Your Highness.”
Shaking her head slightly to steady herself, Meyna straightened her posture and smiled bravely.
“Hmm.”
Biterion still looked concerned and bent his knees to lower himself to her eye level, carefully examining her complexion.
“I believe your words, Lady Winslet, but it is hard for me to believe that you are fine.”
By now, Biterion knew Meyna’s nature remarkably well, better than anyone who had spent far longer by her side.
“What did you discuss with Her Majesty?”
“Nothing in particular. She simply asked after my well-being.”
“She must have told you not to tell me what was said.”
At his precise remark, Meyna flinched.
Biterion chuckled softly and spoke.
“That is why I trust you.”
“……”
“You are the worst liar among everyone I know.”
Meyna pressed her lips together and lowered her head.
“You do not look well.”
Biterion’s smile faded as he assessed her condition with concern.
In truth, her dizziness had been worsening since meeting the Empress.
Moreover, the area behind her ear felt as though it had been burned by something hot.
As she searched for the source of the pain, touching her ear and neck, Meyna spoke.
“Your Highness, I will step outside for some fresh air and then return.”
“……”
“As you said, I am not feeling very well, but I think walking outside and breathing the air will help.”
“Where exactly do you feel unwell?”
After hesitating out of habit, Meyna answered honestly.
“I feel dizzy, and somewhere feels hot.”
As Meyna touched the area around her right ear and temple, Biterion gently took hold of her wrist.
“Just a moment.”
He stepped closer and, after releasing her wrist, leaned in as if he had noticed something.
“There seems to be something on the back of your neck, or perhaps it is injured.”
“Is that so?”
It seemed the source of the burning pain was indeed her nape.
“May I touch it briefly?”
His warm breath brushed against the back of her neck.
Startled by the sudden closeness, Meyna stiffened and then nodded carefully.
“The skin is red and swollen.”
Biterion’s low voice echoed near her ear.
People enjoying wine and music drifted in and out of the banquet hall, appearing hazy in her vision.
And from afar, someone was approaching the banquet hall with hurried, improper steps.
It was a woman wearing a vivid rose-colored dress embroidered with dazzling jewels.
She spoke to the man behind her.
“Then, Sir Lennox, I will go inside first!”
Biterion and Meyna’s gazes turned to the same place at once.
“I will be enjoying the banquet with Lady Lota and Sir Hiaron, so please take your time!”
With the clicking of her heels, the woman dashed into the Great Hall.
The tall man who entered Meyna’s field of view was none other than Kalif.
Dressed in a black tailored suit, his expression was neither dark nor bright.
Kalif had clearly noticed the two of them as well.
Without looking away for even a moment, he continued to approach.
Biterion, who had been standing very close to Meyna as if they were engaged in a secret tryst outside the hall, slowly stepped back and stood beside her.
As the pain intensified, Meyna suppressed it and spoke to Biterion while watching Kalif stop right in front of them.
“Your Highness. Let us go somewhere without people.”
