Chapter 72………………………………………….
– Piercing Longing
After hearing that Lea was not his granddaughter, Dmitri fell into a deep pit of despair. For him, who had lived alone in loneliness for so long, Lea had been a ray of light, a fragment of hope.
He had resolved to give to Lea all the love he had been unable to give his daughter, who had left the world so suddenly and meaninglessly.
But when he learned that Ariel’s child had died, every shred of that hope was shattered. At the same time, an endless despair and suffocating loneliness overcame him.
It had all happened so suddenly—the way his body had collapsed so emptily.
And then, he dreamed.
Of those happy times spent with young Ariel.
Of the child who came running into his arms, her luscious red hair streaming in the wind.
Of the lovely little face that chattered away in a sweet voice.
As tears welled in Dmitri’s eyes, thinking of those things he would never again see, a melody from a beloved music box reached his ears.
“This sound…”
The music box that played his daughter’s favorite tune—the one he had made as a gift for Ariel’s tenth birthday.
Of all the gifts she had ever received, it was the one she cherished most. After her death, it had been as if the music box was his daughter’s very soul.
He polished it every day and kept it close at hand. But—
“The music box’s key should be…”
It had been crafted to open only with the necklace passed down from the duchess.
But Ariel had taken that necklace with her when she left home, and so the music box could never again be opened.
“Then why…”
Why was he hearing, after more than twenty years, that long-lost melody? Was this the moment of his death—or just a dream?
As Dmitri drifted in thought even in his dream, the lid of the music box snapped shut, and the melody broke off abruptly.
“…No way.”
Only then did the duke realize this was reality. Slowly, he turned toward where the sound had come from.
There, a girl who looked exactly like his deceased daughter was staring at him with trembling eyes. They had told him Ariel’s child had died at birth.
Yes, they had said so. Then why—
“…Lea?”
At the sudden voice, Lea flinched.
“I—I’m sorry. Because of me—”
Dmitri’s gaze shifted slowly to the music box in her hands. Then at last, his eyes fell on the necklace she held.
“That necklace…”
A key-shaped pendant set with a ruby—the very necklace Ariel had taken with her when she left the estate long ago.
“Ah, this…”
Lea swallowed hard and fidgeted with the necklace out of habit.
“They told me I had this on me when I was abandoned in front of the orphanage. So I always thought it was something my parents had left me…”
Perhaps realizing something was off, her voice trembled as she continued.
After all, she had almost unconsciously inserted the pendant into the music box’s keyhole.
“Why would my necklace open this music box?”
Everything was a mess in her mind. The woman in the framed portrait who resembled her. The necklace she had believed to be her parents’ keepsake.
All of it pointed to a single answer.
“…No way.”
The events at the estate flashed before her like lantern slides.
Butler Barton, who had been unusually kind. The servants who always sneaked glances her way.
And the Duke of Belarus, who had treated her so warmly, as if she were truly his granddaughter.
“Could I be connected to this household? Perhaps… the daughter of the late young lady?”
As the thought struck her, Lea’s hands began to tremble violently.
Thirty years in Korea. Twenty-two years here, believing herself an orphan abandoned at birth.
She had always believed the only family she had were the children and caretakers at the orphanage.
There had been countless days when she longed for parents and family. But she forced herself to accept reality rather than chase after impossible dreams.
“Could it be… I really have a family?”
Her eyes shook as she stared down at the marble floor. What if she allowed herself to believe, only to be abandoned again?
“What if I get my hopes up and it turns out not to be true…”
As if he could read her heart, Dmitri reached out and clasped her trembling hands.
“Lea.”
“…Your Grace.”
When she looked up, she saw his eyes filled with longing.
Yes—from the first day they had met until now, the Duke of Belarus had always looked at her with those same eyes.
“I believe your mother was my daughter, the one who died.”
His gaze, full of emotions—joy at reunion, love, longing, sorrow—mixed into something aching and tender.
“And you are my granddaughter.”
The tears at the corners of the duke’s eyes finally fell as he spoke those words.
❀ ❀ ❀
[“The Land Abandoned by God. Does spring come at last to the barren Bialytskhal?”]
[“The houses of Belarus and Hydern greet a second golden age. The bell of a new era tolls.”]
Illei’s slender fingers turned the pages of the daily paper. Each rustling sound of paper made Marquis Rodrigo tense all the more.
“Of all times, why are articles praising that upstart duke spreading now?”
He had been carefully pre-screening articles meant for the capital’s newspapers. Only a few days ago, there had been none praising Akkia. But now they were multiplying beyond control.
Marquis Rodrigo glanced at Illei as he read, his cold, emotionless gaze freezing him more than any anger could.
An emperor without expression was far more terrifying than one in rage.
After reading for some time, Illei slapped the paper down with a sharp thud.
“Gerald. Have you looked into the master of the Magnolia Trading Company?”
“Yes. I’ve been inquiring everywhere, but we still haven’t identified them. They are far too shrouded in mystery, so the investigation has been slow.”
Illei had given the order when the Duke of Hydern’s popularity began soaring among the people.
The Magnolia Company had suddenly leapt into developing the hot springs industry. That such a new company had beaten out the empire’s established trading houses to win the rights seemed suspicious.
Rodrigo himself had shared those doubts. He had begun investigating even before Illei commanded it.
But the company master’s identity remained completely unknown. Name, age, birthplace—not even their gender was clear.
“It seems it will take more time to ascertain—”
Just as Rodrigo was bowing to excuse the delay—
“How important can that information be, Gerald, that it takes you so long?”
The marquis stiffened at the voice from behind. Turning, he saw a middle-aged man with deep gray hair approaching them.
“Count Leorod.”
Even in the emperor’s office, the man strode in without so much as a knock. Illei’s expression soured for an instant, then he raised his lips in a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Welcome, Count Leorod.”
“Your Majesty.”
The count bowed politely and seated himself across from Illei.
“The master of Magnolia Company is none other than the Duke of Belarus.”
He poured himself tea with smooth movements as he spoke.
Illei responded slowly, “But I understood the duke had no further interest in politics.”
“Do you really believe the words of that cunning old fox, Your Majesty?”
Illei’s brows furrowed slightly. Dmitri had once dominated the world alongside the late Emperor Phillips III.
That such a man would give up everything simply because his daughter had died—Leorod could never believe it.
“The Duke of Belarus is hiding his claws. He waits for the right moment to return to the capital. This hot springs project, and Magnolia Company, are but the stepping stones.”
His eyes gleamed like a predator’s that had spotted fresh prey.
“Even placing that green boy, the Duke of Hydern, at the front—it’s all part of the same plan.”
“…”
“How hard could it be to manipulate a duke who only just rose from his sickbed?”
Illei’s gaze sank deep as Akkia came to mind. Even before Leorod’s arrival, the newspaper articles praising Akkia had been gnawing at his thoughts.
The citizens hailed him as if he would save the world.
No matter how much Akkia had changed, such a transformation could not happen overnight. That meant someone was supporting him from behind.
“So—it really is the work of the Duke of Belarus.”
It was more rational to assume this was the craft of the shrewd Dmitri.
“What do you suggest, Count?”
Leorod was one of the key figures who had helped Illei ascend the throne.
As seasoned as Dmitri himself, the count would not have come without a plan.
“Your Majesty, we must show the Duke of Belarus that the cards in his hand are nothing but rotten twigs.”
“For example?”
The count leaned in close, a cruel smile curling his lips.
“Would it not suffice to expose the incompetence of the very duke he is backing?”
For one not yet thirty, the Duke of Hydern’s greatest weakness could only be his lack of experience.
“The hot springs project will never succeed. I will see to that myself.”
Leorod’s smile deepened, as though already savoring the near future.
“All Your Majesty need do is close your eyes and pretend ignorance, as always.”
Even at such audacity, Illei pressed his lips tight, saying nothing—knowing what words would come next.
“For all is in accordance with the will of the Empress Dowager.”
“The Empress Dowager…”
The emperor’s only blood relative.
If it was her will, then Illei had no choice. For it was she who had placed him on the throne.
