Chapter 28
By making excuses like not feeling well or being in a bad mood, she avoided Julius, but right away they would bring up Anna.
Anna removed the ice pack she had placed on the corner of Lincia’s eye.
“You look a little tired, should I bring you some medicine now?”
“Yes.”
Lincia nodded.
Anna quickly prepared water, candy, and medicine.
As she watched Lincia swallow the medicine, Anna hesitated before speaking.
“When Your Highness speaks with His Majesty tomorrow, may I stay with you?”
“……”
Lincia’s lips trembled slightly.
Half of her wanted to protect Anna’s memories, while the other half wanted Anna to realize how her relationship with Julius had changed, leaving her conflicted.
But for Anna’s safety, it was better not to take her.
“No.”
“Ah, I must have been too presumptuous, I’m sorry.”
Whatever Julius thought of Anna, to Anna he was still someone precious.
Lincia gripped the hem of her dress.
Then, with effort, she spoke.
“Instead, I’ll arrange for you to have time alone with Julius.”
That was the best Lincia could do.
***
Julius lingered in the banquet hall longer than expected, even after knowing that Lincia had left.
He acted as if he genuinely enjoyed the banquet.
Because of that, Harvich had to drink quite a lot of alcohol.
Though no matter how much he drank, he still did not get drunk.
“When will Your Majesty retire for the night?”
“…Hmm, let me think.”
Julius smiled, swirling his wine glass.
“Maybe I’ll leave after finishing this one. I stayed longer than I thought.”
He stayed near Harvich as though he had something to say, but in the end, no meaningful conversation came out.
Through the window, Julius gazed at the quietly falling snow.
“When snow falls like this, when will the next one come?”
“I do not know. What is certain is that the season of daytime snow will begin soon.”
“The North is such a difficult place to live. It feels like another country.”
Julius murmured quietly, and Harvich grew uneasy.
“It is not so destitute as that. The mines are plentiful.”
The North always had a poor reputation because of food shortages, but the income from its mines was enormous.
Still…
“Yes. If food can be traded for that wealth, it would be a better place to live.”
“……”
“If the North becomes easier to live in, would my sister push me aside?”
Harvich looked at Julius.
He could not understand the nonsense he was spouting, but it was clear he was drunk.
“You seem intoxicated. It would be best to return now.”
Julius glanced at Harvich, then turned and left the banquet hall.
As he departed, Harvich too made his way toward the bedchambers.
Quite some time had passed.
He let out a long breath.
Though he did not feel drunk, the smell of alcohol clung to his whole body.
He washed briefly before entering the chamber.
When Harvich stepped inside, Lincia’s maid was dozing in a chair.
Sensing movement, she startled awake.
“…Ah.”
Anna quickly bowed and stood up.
Harvich sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Lincia.
She seemed exhausted from the day and had not stirred from her sleep.
He lifted a finger to her reddened eyelids.
The events of the banquet came to mind.
As soon as the first music ended, Lincia had gone to Tereo, and Harvich had felt strange watching it.
Though he had held her hand when entering the hall and felt its warmth, it was as if nothing had remained in his grasp.
Harvich stood still and watched as Tereo and Lincia danced together.
People approached him at intervals to speak, but his eyes never left Tereo.
From the way his lips kept curving upward and how his gaze never strayed from Lincia, Harvich became certain of Tereo’s feelings.
Yes, it was love.
Tereo loved Lincia.
The moment Harvich realized it clearly, he felt unbearable displeasure.
From the time he had first seen them together in the Grand Duke’s corridor, to Tereo’s remarks at lunch, and now their second dance tonight—
Every part of Tereo grated on him.
That man had shared moments with Lincia that Harvich never knew.
So the distance Harvich could never bridge with her, Tereo could cross with ease.
The sight of their hands entwined throughout the dance annoyed him deeply.
“Why did you dance with him?”
“…I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to dance with the child’s father.”
Even though he knew it was a lie, his heart sank when Lincia referred to another man as the child’s father.
More than when he had first learned she carried Julius’s child.
Harvich touched her hand with his fingertips as she slept.
It was a small contact, but just knowing he was touching her made his heart ticklish.
If only she would take his hand first, just once more.
She was a woman he could not bring himself to push away.
How could he never have been drawn to her?
Though short, their time at the Academy had meant something to him too.
Harvich also had the urge to go to her, hold her, kiss her.
And among all the nights he had struggled to resist that urge, tonight felt the longest.
***
The Emperor’s envoy delayed their departure by one day, leaving tomorrow morning instead.
The snowfall had lasted all night and only stopped by midday.
“The snow isn’t so bad. It means I can spend more time with my sister.”
Julius smiled brightly and sipped his tea.
“I got advice from Oberok. You can drink this, it’s good for the child too.”
He offered another teacup toward Lincia.
“Thank you for the thought.”
The red liquid in the cup rippled uneasily.
Lincia felt her vision blur.
Back at the Imperial Palace, during teatime with Julius, she had once drunk poison.
Julius had flown into a rage, mobilizing every physician in the palace to save her.
When she barely opened her eyes, he explained over and over that it wasn’t his doing, but Lincia had realized.
This was a clear warning.
“Sister, you need to focus on me. Our time together is short.”
Lincia lifted her head and looked at Julius.
“To be honest, I was hurt yesterday. Shouldn’t the second dance have been with me?”
“Ah, but Tereo is leaving tomorrow too. He approached me first, and I thought refusing him would be discourteous…”
Lincia gave the excuse she had prepared.
Though Julius still seemed unsatisfied, he only sighed weakly instead of pressing further.
Instead, he asked something else.
“Did you forgive him? The man who sold you to me.”
Lincia’s lips parted slightly, but she had no answer.
Julius leaned his chin on his hand and stared at her.
“I see. That makes sense.
My sister has always had an eye for handsome men.
Maybe Tereo fit my sister’s refined taste.”
Lincia’s eyes trembled.
