Chapter 16
“You seem to be trying to play games with me, but you should know your place. Haven’t you heard the rumors about my almost successful attempt to assassinate Leonie? The one who is heavily guarded in the palace. Or perhaps the rumors about poisoning?”
“That… that…”
Shima’s face paled.
I realized that only Bessie, besides me, knew that I had sent an assassin to Leonie, but it seemed fine for this maid to know. Although there was no evidence to blame her, fear would be enough.
I whispered quickly in a lower voice.
“If you doubt it, ask Bessie to confirm it. My personal maids, you know. But Shima, how easy do you think it would be to deal with someone like you who has nothing? Do you think Leonie in the palace would bother with you?”
Probably not. After all, Leonie might never return to this house.
Moreover, the reason the Lion faction maids could be so agitated was solely because of my efforts to become empress. I tolerated their arrogant attitudes to avoid unnecessary fuss.
But now, there was no need for that.
I gripped Shima’s wrist tightly.
“If I change my mind, I could call the butler right now to have you kicked out of this mansion, Shima. I could accuse you of rummaging through my jewelry box without a recommendation. Do you think Gemma would take your side then?”
I released Shima’s wrist. Then, in a calm voice, I finished my words.
“Think about it. I’m here to help you.”
Shima rubbed her wrist and stepped back, her face on the verge of tears.
I caught the nervous exchange of glances between her and the other maid as she left the room. Perhaps Shima realized her mission had failed as soon as she left the room and that I would share the threat I made with her colleagues.
‘Let’s see if there’s a rift in the Lion faction.’
* * *
Once the maids left, I took two sleeping pills and drifted back to sleep. If I couldn’t eat anyway, sleeping was the only way to endure it. Even if I had corrected the arrogance of one or two maids through threats, my situation wouldn’t improve.
When I opened my eyes, it was darkness.
Popo was sleeping by my bedside. He must have gone out hunting or something since his mouth was stained with blood.
“What?!”
Right, even you should eat something. I wiped Popo’s face with a tissue soaked in water.
Looking around the room, I noticed neatly folded clothes on the dressing table.
The Lion Faction maids wouldn’t have left them so neatly. They probably pretended to wake me up to make me hungry. So, my maids had come and gone without waking me up when they saw I was asleep.
It was too bothersome to call the maids, so I showered alone and then picked up the new pajamas to change into when something fell in between.
It was jerky.
There was only one person who would do such a thing.
“Thank you, Bessie.”
Once, when I received orders not to go out and not to eat, Bessie secretly brought me food. She was almost beaten to death by the headmaid for it. I felt so guilty. I thought she wouldn’t bring me food again after that incident, yet here she was.
I tore a piece of jerky and put it in my mouth, hiding the rest under my pillow.
In one corner of the room, there were still heaps of birthday presents I hadn’t opened yet.
I had planned to return home after dining with Lord Glenito and immediately tidy up. For important figures in noble families, I had to acknowledge the gifts, send thank-you letters, categorize them, and donate appropriate ones to the temple…
However, I didn’t feel like doing anything right now. Since I wasn’t going to be Empress anymore, was there really a need to bother with these people?
After all, it wasn’t my concern anymore.
I threw on a shawl and stepped out onto the balcony. The moon was bright tonight, though the stars weren’t visible, which was disappointing.
“The dark night sky is like my future.”
At least the night sky had the moon, unlike my future.
Suddenly, the thought crossed my mind.
Did Lord Glenito know how poorly I was being treated here? If he thought of me as a cherished daughter who grew up in a loving household, would he have proposed to me like this? Then, would the man who gave me that brief yet intense sweetness disappear from my life?
Feeling a bit depressed at that thought, Popo suddenly came to my side and whimpered. It seemed like he was whimpering towards the outside, so I looked down towards the garden from the balcony.
And there, in the garden below my balcony…
“Oh my…”
A man was standing right under the balcony.
Owen Ta Glenito.
That man, in the garden of this house, the Bartholi Mansion!
Thinking I had seen something wrong, I rubbed my eyes, but the man didn’t disappear. He even held the large bouquet of flowers in his hand. Even in the faint moonlight, he simply shone as if the moon had descended into the garden.
I quickly crouched down and sat, feeling the urge to say so many things but often getting tongue-tied around this man.
Whispering through the balcony railing, I asked.
“What are you doing here?”
The man walked a few steps closer to me and spoke in a low voice. Despite the cold night air, his voice reached me.
“I came in through the hole. To the place you indicated.”
“No… I mean, why did you come?”
“You didn’t respond to my message. I asked you to think about it and get in touch.”
What?!
“Yesterday morning, you said you would wait for my response!”
“To me, an hour feels like a day, so it’s been thirty hours already, which is like giving you a month’s worth of time.”
…What kind of forced logic was this?
“If it was an eye blink time for me, then are you suggesting the Lord would only give me that much time?”
[ T/N: So she meant that if, by his logic, an hour is a day, then her logic is also 30 hours = a day ]
The man visibly looked disappointed at my words. His drooping ears showed his disappointment.
“I understand. One shouldn’t rush a lady, but what to do when impatient?”
….
Why was a man like him clinging to me? What did he want from me?
As soon as I thought that, the man quickly changed his expression before he lifted his head to ask me.
“Putting that aside, are you going to leave your guest standing out here like this?”
How audacious.
But somehow, the way this man was blatantly trying to manipulate me with such transparent excuses started to seem cute. I didn’t have the time to think of what if my father found out or if it was appropriate to let a stranger into my room at this hour.
Unaware that my mood had lightened, I innocently spoke.
“You can’t come in through the front gate. Why don’t you come up here and see for yourself?”
There were no trees or ladders near my room, so unless the man’s hands were suction cups, climbing the wall was out of the question. However, the man confidently smiled at my words. He then took something out of the bag he had brought and uttered.
“Please step back a little.”
As I stepped back with Popo in my arms, the man disappeared from my view.
Suddenly, I heard a whooshing sound and a small hook-like object hung from the balcony railing. When I went to see, I saw Owen Ta Glenito was holding onto a long rope-like object. He had thrown one end of it onto the railing.
He began to ascend using the rope without any tools.
‘…Unbelievable.’
Even if someone told me he was a mercenary, I’d believe it.
How could a person climb up using just a rope with their bare hands? How strong must their arms be? In the blink of an eye, the man ascended to the railing, effortlessly leaping over it and onto the balcony without breaking a sweat. He had a bouquet of flowers in his mouth.
Impressed, I murmured.
“…You came well prepared.”
“Yes, I’m quite a thorough man.”
With that, he collected the rope and set it down on the balcony.
Lord Glenito, while setting down the rope, glanced at my feet and chuckled as if teasing. He had noticed that I was wearing the slippers he had bought for me. They were fluffy white indoor slippers.
“I thought you’d like white.”
“Not really.”
“But your pajamas, the fox you’re holding, the vanity table and the table in the room are all white.”
…I couldn’t argue with that. Maybe I should just dye everything.
Since I didn’t want to leave him standing on the balcony, I decided to invite him into the bedroom. I had nothing to offer him, but that was something a sudden guest should expect.
The man hesitated slightly as he entered the bedroom, but his eyes were full of curiosity.
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