“Adele.”
Van’s eyes were dark. He looked like he was angry.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
The cold body was clearly felt through the clothes.
Van was embarrassed.
“Adele.”
Adele trembled and fainted again. Van lifted Adele up. He saw Adele sleeping well in the morning. But she was in a mess, as if she had just rolled into a warehouse somewhere. Seeing Adele’s scratched and bloody feet, torn and dirty clothing, Van shed tears without realizing it.
“Hey.”
At that momentum, the servants retreated.
“Who brought Adele to prison?”
Two of the knights stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, your Majesty has told me to take her.”
The knight trembled with fear and disbelief.
“Take her.”
Van frowned looking at her face. Usually, saying ‘take someone’ meant the same thing as ‘Get rid of the person’. The destination was always the dungeon. At least, he thought Adele was locked in the tower because she was the mother of the prince and a woman. Van lost his sanity when he saw Adele unconscious in his arms.
‘I didn’t mean to hold you like this.’ He said to himself.
Tears were welling up in his eyes. Van walked out of the prison holding Adele in his arms.
“Go in.”
At the sight of the emperor, the two knights could not even make a click and went into the prison through the crack of the wrinkled grate.
Clack.
Van restored the bars with one hand. The iron bars were bent here and there, but returned to the normal functional state of locking people inside.
“Let’s go.”
When Van left, there were only two knights who had been vented by the emperor in the cold prison.
***
Adele’s body throbbed. It had only been two days since the emperor appeared to take her child.
Was it because the shock was too great, or was it because she stayed for half a day in the cold room of the prison?
She seemed to have gotten sick.
‘I’m so scared.’
When she gave birth to Leo, she wasn’t this scared or anything. Because she was trying to be strong.
Did you hear that whisper?
A laugh could be heard from the top of her head.
“I am not that scary.”
“No. I was so frightened that I thought I was going to die.”
Adele mumbled furiously and narrowed her eyes.
“Adele.”
It was a dream. Van kissed her forehead tenderly.
Soft lips.
Affectionate gaze.
A warm loving gaze that could melt the snow away…
“Am I dead?”
“Not likely.”
“Huh. Then it’s still a dream.”
Adele was reassured and hugged Van. Sometimes Van appeared in her dreams. It was the same image that Adele knew four years ago. He was always the same in her dreams, probably because she had never seen him in a different outfit. At Adele’s bedside, he appeared in a shirt the same as he wore back then. When she met Van in her dream, Adele told him about what happened to her. Van hugged Adele and laid down on her bed, listening to all the stories. When she dreamed that he was coming, Adele used to feel good the next day. Because Van in the dream was unconditionally on Adele’s side. When she said something sad, he used to say, “You must have been frustrated,” “I wish you had said something pleasant,” and “If you were angry or offended, something was wrong with the other person.” But today, seeing Van after a long time, tears welled up in her eyes.
She was crying and angry. (*she thought she was dreaming and talking to Van that she saw in her dream)
“Why are you here so late?”
“I’m sorry. I was a little busy, so I couldn’t help it.”
Van gently brushed her hair.
“Why don’t you kiss me just because I’m glad you came?”
Adele was sad.
After meeting the emperor, it was clear that the Van of her dream was an illusion created by herself because she was lonely.
“Van, I met him.”
“You did.”
“He … was the Emperor.”
Van hugged her tightly.
“Did you recognize him?”
“He looks just like Van.”
“Is he as handsome as me?”
Adele shook his head.
“No, You are prettier.”
“It must have been a disappointment.”
Van smiled like it was fun. After all, he seemed in a good mood today. It was the exact opposite of Adele’s image world.
“Why are you crying? It’s the first time I’ve seen you cry.”
“I might die now.”
“…Why?”
“He… he is going to take Leo with him.”
“It’s not… he won’t.”
“No. Really. ‘It can’t be helped. Bring the woman too. He said this.”
When Adele imitated the emperor’s hard expression, Van laughed.
“Don’t laugh. I am serious.”
“That’s… Wouldn’t it be unavoidable?”
Adele felt bad.
“Why?”
“You’re acting weird today, Van.”
“Why is it strange?”
“Why aren’t you on my side?”
Sad tears fell from Adele’s eyes. It’s been a long time since he appeared. Adele was scared in her dreams. It was hard. She wanted to be comforted by him. Why was he different from the usual Van?
“Maybe… is this the last time?”
“What do you mean?”
Adele blinked, tears running down her cheeks.
“I met the real emperor… Are you not going to be in my dreams anymore?”
Van wiped Adele’s tears with his fingers.
“I was planning to come tomorrow.”
Van stared at her.
“You don’t like it?”
Adele couldn’t answer. It’s in a dream, though. Only tears kept flowing.
“Adele…”
Van’s voice was far away. Adele was exhausted from crying and fell back to sleep. Van laid Adele, who was sleeping in his arms, quietly on the bed.
“Adele…”
Van ran his fingers through Adele’s soft brown hair. He pressed his forehead on Adele’s, which felt smooth.
“Hold on a little longer.”
Pressing his lips once more on Adele’s forehead, the Emperor stood up from the bed.
***
Knock, knock.
Adele woke up to the sound of the door knocking. Outside the door, someone called Adele.
“Miss Ernst, are you awake?
“Yes.”
“I’m coming in.”
Adele was still half unconscious.
“Hello, Miss Ernst. I’m Julia Hendrix.”
A dignified woman in a stylish dress greeted Adele. It was only then that she woke up when she saw her. Adele grabbed her pajamas and bowed her head.
“I’m Adelaine Ernst. I’m sorry for lying down while you’re saying hello.”
Julia smiled kindly.
“I couldn’t greet you yesterday. In the future, I will be serving Miss Ernst.
Feel free to say anything.”
“…”
“Okay, then I’ll get you some clothes to change into.”
Julia bowed her head and disappeared from her room.
“What happened?”
She was obviously in jail yesterday. Adele lifted the blanket and got out of bed. The wounds on her arms and feet were already covered with medicine. And it looked like most of her wounds were healed overnight.
After a while, the maids and Julia returned to the room with a basin filled with water.
“What would you like for breakfast?”
“Hey, where is Leo?”
Adele asked with anxious eyes.
“When you finish your breakfast, Miss Ernst and Prince Leo will go to greet the Emperor.”
“With Leo?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I’ll do it myself. You don’t have to help me”
As Julia tried to wash Adele’s face, Adele stopped her when she saw the maid rolling up their sleeves from both sides.
“Then call me if you need anything.”
Julia and her maids let out a sigh as they retreated.
“With Leo? Then it means that I can meet Leo.”
Adele washed her face and her body because she couldn’t wash properly for two days. She felt much refreshed after washing up. Adele picked out a dress with the help of Julia.
“You’ll look more beautiful in this.”
Julia recommended a green chiffon dress with exposed shoulders and a cut on the chest.
“No, I’ll wear something else.”
She has never worn a dress that emphasizes her figure.
“Well, what about this?”
Julia took out another dress, but Adele shook her head.
Julia arranged a dress with a lingering face, saying, “It’s too bad.” Adele wore a dress similar to her original one and a button-up style up to her neck.
‘I don’t want to make a good impression on the emperor’, she said to herself.
It was a choice that reflected her feelings. Adele drank only a glass of juice and hurried.
“Leo!”
At the entrance to the Imperial Palace Garden, Adele met her son for the first time in a day.
“Mom!”
Leo came running and hugged her.
While rubbing her cheek against her son’s soft cheek, Adele was thankful that she was still alive.
“I missed you,” Leo muttered. Adele smiled cheerfully.
“Mom missed Leo so much yesterday that she couldn’t sleep.”
“Hehe.”
“I slept in a very big room.”
“Wasn’t it scary because mom wasn’t there?”
“Yes, it was a bigger room, but I wasn’t scared.”
The sight of the innocent child calmed down Adele’s anxiety. Adele walked in the garden with Leo in her arms.
‘It’s very beautiful.’
“This is the Emperor’s garden,” explained Yulia, who was following them.
“The garden?”
Her eyes were about to pop out. Even if she walked for an hour, she couldn’t reach the end of the garden.
“Yes. Lake Vinele, the largest lake in the Imperial Palace, also faces the widest part of His Majesty’s garden.”
Lake?
Is it a thing to include lakes in the garden? Adele decided to pretend she hadn’t heard about it.
“Julia, where are we going now? We don’t have to go around this big garden, do we?”
“Yes, I prepared tea and snacks in the shade of the tree over there. If you wait there, His Majesty will come shortly.”
Fortunately, she didn’t think she would be punished for looking around the garden. Adele was a little relieved.
“Wow,” When they got to the outdoor tea table, Adele was more impressed than Leo.
“Is this the lake?”
“That’s right. “It’s Lake Vinele.”
The silver waves of the lake shining in the sun were so beautiful.
There was a big tree by the lake, and Leo, who took out the ball Julia had brought, ran happily on the lawn. The relaxed and beautiful scene calmed Adele a little.
For the first time in a few days, Adele forgot her pain and smiled brightly.
“Leo, do you want to play treasure hunt?”
“Yes! Yes!”
With Leo closing his eyes, Adele hid the ball under a long, stretched tablecloth. When they saw it, Julia and the ladies covered their mouths and laughed.
“Now look for it.”
Leo’s eyes twinkled and looked around. Adele smiled at the lovely appearance, it was then…
“Dad!”
When Leo screamed, Adele’s smile disappeared from her face.