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Chapter 21 – I Won’t Let You Go
Gloria looked at the shocked Baroness and said,
“I believed. If it’s the Marquis, he will work really hard for this Empire and will be a good companion, even if he doesn’t love me tenderly.”
“…”
“Right. Until that moment, I believed. If it was Erun, he wouldn’t betray me.”
“Your Majesty?”
Berne couldn’t understand Gloria’s words. Even though it hasn’t happened yet, why was she speaking in past tense? Like someone who has experienced it all.
But since Gloria had no intention of telling the truth of her return, she looked into Berne’s eyes and said.
“I have a piece of advice for you.”
At the word ‘advice,’ the middle-aged woman’s face hardened and her lips began to tremble.
“It would be better to stop believing in that good smile the Marquis has. If you are not able to properly procure information in this Palace for him, the Marquis will immediately remove you and place someone else.”
“Your Majesty… .”
“Of course, the Marquis can’t do whatever he wants now, but he can get rid of you smoothly enough. Isn’t it easy enough to create a ‘plausible cause’?”
“…!”
At Gloria’s strangely nuanced words, Berne’s eyes widened. It was easy to guess at the ‘plausible cause’ she was talking about. Currently, Gloria was pushing Erun away and, unlike in the past, he could not exercise his authority over palace personnel. Then, the inevitable conclusion was,
‘He will get rid of you when you die!’ Berne couldn’t even breathe.
‘Which one should I trust?’ She put her hands on her dizzy head and closed her eyes. Gloria’s words were unbelievable, but if it was the Imperial Palace, if it was a high-ranking nobleman, there was a good chance it could be true. Berne lifted her head and saw Gloria standing in front of her. Gloria was looking straight at her with indescribably deep blue eyes. Berne clasped the dress tightly with her hands damp with nervousness and spoke in a hoarse voice to Gloria.
“Obviously, I came to the Palace at the request and recommendation of the Marquis. I was only serving Your Majesty, never the Marquis. Please do not have any doubts about this.”
“How will you prove it?”
Despite Berne’s sincerity, Gloria showed a chill attitude. In front of the Emperor who clearly didn’t trust her, Berne had no choice but to bow her head. She had conveyed her sincerity through words, but the Emperor did not believe her, and there was only one thing left for her.
‘If I can prove it with this, I’m willing to.’
After closing her eyes once and opening them again, Berne, without hesitation, grabbed the letter knife placed on the table and squeezed it roughly.
“What…?”
Gloria jumped up from her seat at the Baroness’ unexpected actions. Seeing the startled expression of the Emperor, Berne smiled weakly.
“Please forgive me.”
Gloria’s eyes widened even more. Berne closed her eyes tightly and plunged the knife into her chest with all her might.
Stab! A dull sound echoed in the bedroom. To prove her loyalty, Baroness Berne pushed the knife hard into her chest. Yet, she opened her eyes as she heard a dull sound rather than feel sharp pain. The first thing she saw was…
“Your Majesty!!!”
“Ah…”
To stop the noble suicide, Gloria blocked the knife using her own hand. A considerable amount of blood began to pour from Gloria’s hand, and the court ladies who were waiting outside the room hurriedly opened the door at the Baroness’ shout.
“Your Majesty!!!”
Teresa, a court lady who had been by Gloria’s side for many years, rushed in with a pale face and held the Emperor’s arm. Gloria didn’t mind the hand grabbing her arm and spoke to the confused court ladies.
“Don’t make a fuss and quietly bring a heavy-mouthed priest.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At Gloria’s instructions, the court ladies quickly left the room, and Teresa hurriedly tore a strip from her skirt to staunch the bleeding.
“Your Majesty, why…”
Berne couldn’t understand the current situation. She tried to stab a knife in her chest to prove her loyalty, but she didn’t comprehend why Gloria had obstructed it with her own hand. The Emperor said as she stared at the piece of cloth drenched with her blood.
“You can’t show your loyalty by killing yourself.”
“Your Majesty—”
“More than that.”
Interrupting her, Gloria gave her a meaningful smile and said,
“I think I saved your life twice by now?”
“Two… times?”
Berne couldn’t understand what Gloria was talking about. Gloria pointed to the hand covered in scarlet stained cloth and said kindly,
“I saved you once when a knife was about to stab you, and no matter what the circumstances, the Emperor’s body was wounded. You can be charged with attempted murder of the Emperor, even if it’s not.”
“I am…”
“That’s why I saved your life twice. If you’re going to throw it away like that, would you rather give it to me?”
Gloria said as she sat down on the floor and looked at Berne’s trembling back. She knew enough that she could be making a false move. But, as far as she proved this much, she had to hold onto Berne and use her as she could.
‘If you think about it, she is the person I will need in the future for the case of the late Emperor’s murder. I have to hold her in my hands somehow.’
Berne was the only clue she had at the moment.
‘It doesn’t matter if this hand is cut off dozens of times as long as I can find new evidence even if it’s 0.000001%.’
Enduring the throbbing pain, Gloria opened her mouth.
“From now on, you are not Erun’s recommendation, but the person who owes your life to me. If you don’t like it, I won’t stop you even if you go out on your own feet for attempted murder.”
Speaking like a tyrant from some novel, Gloria thought her words were both funny and ridiculous.
‘Are you saying you want to keep me by your side even after this, Your Majesty?’ Berne, unaware of the Emperor’s thoughts, closed her eyes helplessly. Seeing Gloria trying so eagerly to sever her link with the Marquis, even creating such a debt, Berne bit her lip hard and looked at Gloria with red eyes.
“There is only one person I serve—Your Majesty, not the Marquis. However, I will say it again here. Even if this life ends here, it only belongs to Your Majesty.”
Berne shed tears and rested her forehead on the cold floor. Unlike the court ladies, who froze when the Baroness, the person who always kept her head up managing the Palace, bowed to the floor, Gloria leaned into the chair brought by Teresa and spoke satisfied.
“Please take good care of me from now on, Baroness Berne.”
The Emperor smiled brightly, ignoring the blood drenching her sleeves and dress front.
Unlike the Emperor who smiled in a good mood, Teresa wanted to take a knife and stab Berne right away.
‘I really don’t know why you like it so much when you’re hurt, Your Majesty.’
Teresa had sent the court ladies out to drive Berne away and now looked at Gloria with an angry face. She put on a witch-like smile seeing Teresa’s gaze and said softly.
“Could I throw away a very tiny possibility that the bastard might have missed? She has to owe it like this so she doesn’t look anywhere else.”
Teresa felt chills at the sight of the grim Gloria. She rarely hardened her face at the sight of the Emperor no matter what and now asked with a stiff face seeing Gloria’s blood drenching her dress.
“What would you do if Princess Diana found out that Your Majesty was injured?”
“Um?”
Gloria looked at her with round eyes.
‘Teresa is the same before and after the return.’ Gloria smirked as she recalled Teresa, who had done everything she could to save her.
Gloria said in a confident voice.
“If it were Teresa, she’d make sure no one tells her that the Emperor was hurt.”
“Haaa…”
At Gloria’s words, Teresa let out a long sigh. Looking at her, troubled, the Emperor spoke sincerely.
“Teresa. My hand hurts so much.”
Hearing the Emperor’s childish complaint, the court lady replied sternly.
“You have earned it.”
‘What is this situation?’
She was out for her usual walk, but when she met the two men in front of her, Duchess Praud frowned.
‘The garden roads became a battlefield in an instant.’
Unlike the garden where the pleasant wind blows around the beautiful flowers, the atmosphere on the sidewalk was horrendous.
Because of Gloria’s scandal, she avoided the usual paths because she didn’t want to be caught around dung flies, yet the current situation was like this.
“Oh my, I never thought I’d see a scene like this.”
“Quiet, that’s imprudent.”
“The Duchess is more focused than me.”
“Shh. I can’t hear you.”
At Duchess Proud’s words, the ladies pouted, but quickly held their breath and turned their attention again to the two men staring at each other.
Marquis Erun Lebossi had a bright yet fierce smile on his face, and Duke Kaien Ludenberg stood still, eyeing the man in front of him as if watching a small beast trembling.
Kaien’s gaze seemed to say ‘Let’s see how reckless you are.’ Erun ground his teeth.
‘I have to see the bastard I hate so early in the morning, so unfortunate.’
Erun sighed and swept his hair back with his hand. Exclamations poured out of the mouths of the hiding ladies as his shining blonde hair fluttered in the sunlight.
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“Oh my!”
“Goodness! He’s really cool! He’s like a painting.”
“Shh!”
Seeing his hair that seemed to gleam more than the sun, the ladies let out a sigh and blushed while screaming, and Duchess Praud glared at them and motioned to keep silent. The ladies quickly shut their mouths at the ferocious gaze of the Duchess and held their breath as they re-focused on the two men.
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