Chapter 91 - North Korean rabbit

Chapter 91

Chapter 10. The Shadow That Lurks

"...?"

Arpad and my morning starts early.

I had much to do, and Arpad did not sleep much.

Compared to the typical nobles who rise late, we were rather diligent from the morning.

Because of that, as we shared an early breakfast just as the sun was rising, I felt puzzled.

'What is it? Why is it so awkward?'

Arpad was silently devouring the steak piled high on his plate.

His mouth, which would usually spout all sorts of annoying remarks, was busy only eating meat.

To try and change the atmosphere, I made some idle chatter.

"Did something happen? You seem to be in a bit of a bad mood for some reason."

Arpad replied in an oddly deflated tone.

"My dream was unsettling."

"Your dream? What kind of dream?"

At my question, his expression became even more peculiar than before.

He hesitated, his lips moving slightly.

Either way, it was an attitude that did not suit Arpad's character.

'What is it?'

My question vanished without a trace at Arpad's next question.

"If someone you know appears in a dream, what meaning does that hold?"

"Someone you know?"

"Yes. And... what if it's a dream where I... hurt that person?"

My eyes widened.

It was unexpected that he would be so awkward about dreaming of hurting someone.

I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Who appeared?"

Perhaps that person might be Arpad's future lover?

This is my fourth life, but I have never once seen the person Arpad loves.

Perhaps this time I might find out.

Following the faint curiosity, an inexplicable emotion also crept up.

A residue of feeling that was somehow unsettling and anxious.

"...Is it a woman?"

I was surprised even as I asked.

Why am I asking this?

This makes it seem, it really seems... as if I care about Arpad's partner.

Surprisingly, Arpad nodded.

"Yes. A woman."

"......"

Last night's uncharacteristic words from Arpad came to mind.

"Do you trust me in other matters? Do you find me so untrustworthy?"

Saying that, and then dreaming of another person in the same bed as me?

Somehow, it felt a bit vexing.

'Doesn't dreaming of someone mean you care about them that much?'

Old wives' tales often say dreams are interpreted in reverse.

I said something different from what I was thinking.

"You must really dislike that person. To go so far as to hurt them even in a dream."

"No."

An immediate answer.

And it was filled with conviction. Arpad repeated it.

"Absolutely not."

...If it's not, then it's not, why are you denying it so vehemently?

'But isn't excessive denial usually affirmation?'

As this thought arose, my mood sank even lower.

I stabbed an Eggs Benedict with my fork and replied.

"Then you must really like that person. Enough to think of them even in a dream."

"...Is that so?"

Somehow, Arpad's voice sounded a bit flushed.

It was too irritating.

I unconsciously put force into the fork, and the plump yolk atop the bread burst with a *pop*.

* * *

The Empress's Palace was quiet even as morning arrived.

Normally at this hour, it should be bustling with noisy palace maids moving about.

But the mistress was under house arrest, and yesterday the Head Maid was summoned by the Crown Princess and had the platinum key taken away.

Naturally, the palace maids had no choice but to tread carefully, gauging their master's mood, even keeping their breaths quiet.

The Empress's bedchamber.

There, Isabel had spent the night wide awake.

Last night, a man had infiltrated under cover of darkness.

She recalled her conversation with the man.

"Long time no see, Isabel. Or should I now address you as Her Majesty the Empress?"

Magical Tower Lord Gaspar.

She had heard he went to another continent in search of a Dragon's Lair, but it seemed he had returned.

The Dragon's Eclipse that occurred on the day of the banquet six days ago.

It seemed that news had reached Gaspar's ears as well.

Gaspar asked in a tone full of mockery, whispering.

"The rumors are buzzing. They say the new Crown Princess received a dragon's blessing. Is that perhaps true?"

It was very much like a mage obsessed with dragons.

Isabel remembered Gaspar, who had been fixated on dragons even before she entered the Magical Tower as a child, let alone before becoming a proper mage.

'Right. Gaspar wouldn't ignore hearing about a Dragon's Eclipse.'

Unbeknownst to Isabel and Gaspar, in the 'original work', the course of their actions was different from now.

For one, Gaspar's return itself was at a different time from the original work.

It had been hastened because of the Dragon's Eclipse.

In the original work, by the time Gaspar returned, Isabel had successfully pushed Arpad aside and elevated Ludwig.

Afterwards, the Empress advised her daughter to approach Gaspar and seek his help.

That was something that could not happen now for various reasons.

Gaspar had returned early due to the Dragon's Eclipse, and above all, Hilia had appeared and shaken the Empress's position.

Moreover, Isabel had also begun to harbor some slight suspicion towards her daughter.

"Mother, you know how to control the royal family's madness, don't you?"

Evangeline's expression as she mentioned something she had never been told before was chilling.

Isabel skillfully hid her agitation and tried to entice Gaspar.

"All that talk of a dragon's blessing or whatever is nonsense. It's just a ploy to sway public opinion."

"Hmm. But at least it's true that there was a powerful magical reaction when that phenomenon, the Dragon's Eclipse, occurred not long ago."

"A magical reaction? Don't tell me a real dragon actually appeared?"

"That, I don't know either."

Gaspar smiled slyly and trailed off.

And he began to taunt Isabel.

"Whether it's a dragon's blessing or not, the new Crown Princess does seem capable, anyway. To push you into the back room."

"...Did you come here to get under my skin?"

"Seeing someone who doesn't keep their promise just puts me in a bad mood."

"...I didn't break it on purpose. It was simply impossible."

"Right. That was the case. We agreed you'd give me any child born of the royal bloodline... Neither you nor I could have guessed the Emperor would never once seek you out."

"...!"

Isabel gritted her teeth.

Securing his help took precedence over anger at his mockery.

"Help me, Gaspar."

"You're not trying to appeal to sentiment now, are you?"

"...Of course not. I'm talking about a transaction."

"Do you have what I want to offer as payment?"

The Empress hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make a decision, biting her lip as she rose.

Isabel opened the jewelry box placed on the table.

Inside was the Empress's coronation tiara, which she had worn to the banquet at the Artanus Hall not long ago.

Seeing this, Gaspar's eyes gleamed with greed.

Not precisely at the tiara, but at the red gemstone embedded in its center.

"Oh ho? You'll give me that? You said you'd never part with it before. You must really be cornered."

"Shut up. Just shut up and bring me what I ask for. Then I'll give you the Dragon Heart from this tiara."

The gemstone embedded in the Empress's coronation tiara was a fragment of Artanus's Dragon Heart.

Gaspar readily nodded.

It was a very easy task for the price.

The Empress's expression, having finished her recollection, remained hardened.

She struggled to regain her composure.

This will do. It's a great sacrifice, but it was fine if she could obtain 'that'.

'That brat's power ultimately stems from Arpad's existence.'

A Crown Princess who has lost the Crown Prince is meaningless.

* * *

"...Your Highness?"

"......"

"Your Highness?"

"Ah! Sorry. Yulken."

I must have been momentarily distracted and didn't catch Yulken calling me.

I had been in this state all morning.

I kept being unable to focus on my work.

I had called Yulken here first, yet I was the one lost in thought.

Yulken was being very kind to me, as if his initial prickliness had never existed.

"Then I shall explain once more. The information you commanded me to find is......"

I tried hard to concentrate on his words.

But my mind was scattered, and it was still difficult to focus.

The conversation with Arpad from this morning kept repeating in my head.

"...Is it a woman?"

"Yes. A woman."

"You must really dislike that person. To go so far as to hurt them even in a dream."

"No."

So what is it then?!

Who is that woman?

Who is she that you care so much about?!

I wanted to grab Arpad by the collar, shake him, and shout this.

But I couldn't possibly muster the courage.

Yet, to ignore it and move on... I felt like I would die of curiosity!

In the end, I succumbed to desire.

I grabbed Yulken, who was in the middle of his report, and cautiously asked.

"Um... by any chance, Yulken. Do you know if Arpad has a woman he likes, or a lover...?"

Yulken's eyes widened in bewilderment.