~Chapter 106~
“…Haah.”
After seeing Leah off, Johann returned to his room and sank into the sofa, letting out a deep sigh.
“She’s not dying soon.”
That was a relief, but thinking about the pain she had endured in the future made him angry again.
At the Empress.
At himself, for not protecting her.
He clenched his fist tightly and slammed it onto the table.
A crack appeared in the table, and bright red blood flowed over the back of his hand.
“…She must be keeping things from me.”
How lonely and hard must it have been for her?
How resentful and angry must she have felt?
And yet, she came back and struggled here—how conflicted her heart must have been.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the past future.
Crunch.
A metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
“…Damn it.”
He felt like he could go crazy just feeling sorry for Leah.
Not only had she unfairly lost her parents as a child, she also had to say goodbye to her grandmother and then leave without a word.
On top of that, she almost got killed by the Empress.
“Goddess Hecate, if you were just going to let her return, why give Leah all that suffering?”
He wished the pain had been given to him instead.
He roughly wiped his face with his hands again and again.
Blood dripped onto the table, but he didn’t care at all.
His chest felt so tight he couldn’t bear it, so he finally left the room.
He spent the night in the training hall, working his body hard, but sleep wouldn’t come.
The next morning, an enormous amount of gold and jewels arrived at the palace.
It was sent by Emperor Ferdinand von Valerius and addressed to Leah von Blumhardt.
“Wow, there are so many jewels.”
“Did they send this because of what happened yesterday?”
“There’s barely any space to stand.”
The servants gathered in the hall where the jewels had been delivered.
“Leah, did you sleep well?”
Johann asked when he saw Leah coming down after hearing the news.
“Yes, maybe because I cried so much, I slept really well.”
Leah’s smiling face looked relaxed.
“That’s good.”
“Uh, what happened to your hand?”
Leah noticed the back of his hand and was startled.
“…I cut it by accident.”
“Let me see—didn’t you get it treated?”
Leah frowned as she examined his hand.
“This will leave a scar if you’re not careful.”
“I’ll get it treated once the hall is cleaned up. Don’t worry.”
“Promise me you will.”
Leah held out her pinky.
“I promise.”
Johann smiled and hooked his pinky with hers.
“But why are there so many of these?”
“The Emperor sent them to apologize to you for raising his daughter wrong.”
Johann placed both hands on Leah’s shoulders and led her toward the pile of jewels.
“Wait, all of this is for me?”
Leah’s eyes went wide.
“Yes. This bracelet here, with the red diamond called the Tear of the Goddess, is one of the Emperor’s most treasured possessions.”
He picked up the bracelet, shining brighter than the rest, and put it on Leah’s wrist.
“It’s so sparkly it’s almost blinding.”
“Wow, it’s really pretty!”
Raphaella, who had come over, gasped as she fiddled with the bracelet.
“…Isn’t this extremely valuable? Am I really allowed to have it?”
“Of course. Considering what the princess did to you, this isn’t even enough.”
Johann’s letter to the Emperor yesterday had been terrifying, hardly something one could say was written by someone serving the Emperor.
He didn’t bother sugarcoating anything.
He said he would treat the matter as an insult to the five main ducal families and wouldn’t let it slide.
The Emperor, forced to act against his will, had no choice but to send the imperial treasure as a gift.
No wonder the apology letter had some parts blurred by tears.
“Keep what you like here in your room, and I’ll store the rest separately for when you need them.”
“Okay, I will.”
Leah nodded lightly.
“Mom, can Rafi pick one too?”
Raphaella waved her hand.
“Of course. Which one do you want?”
“Hmm, this one!”
Raphaella pointed at a sapphire necklace with her chubby fingers.
“Shall we try it on?”
“Yeah!”
Leah smiled and put the necklace on Raphaella.
“It really suits you, Rafi.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
As Leah picked the jewels to keep in the dressing room, the servants sorted them quickly and efficiently.
Johann went to get his hand treated, and they had lunch together.
Then Johann went to the study to work, and Leah went back to her room with Raphaella.
Isabella and Penelope returned to the mansion earlier than planned.
“Leah!”
Isabella came straight into Leah’s room without even changing her clothes.
“Grandma!”
“Oh? Why are you back so early?”
Leah, who was puzzling with Raphaella, got up in surprise.
“I heard you were in big trouble. How could I leave you at the villa?”
Isabella checked Leah all over.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. That rude princess did try to do something insane to you.”
She sighed and sat on the sofa with Leah.
“Good thing she was punished and sent to the Portuna Monastery, otherwise I’d have gone there myself.”
Leah couldn’t help smiling at her thoughtfulness.
“Oh my, Leah. Are you smiling now?”
“I’m just grateful that you said that for me.”
“Of course, that’s only natural.”
Isabella waved her hand slightly.
“Did you enjoy your time at the villa?”
“It felt different going there with my daughter than when I went with Penelope.”
“You must have been disappointed coming back early.”
“It’s okay. Next time we’ll go together. The forest there is very mysterious and beautiful.”
Isabella stroked Leah’s hand.
“I came in such a hurry I couldn’t even bring gifts… hmm.”
Isabella yawned, covering it with her hand.
“You must be tired from coming in such a rush. You should rest in your room for now.”
“If I stay longer, you’ll feel uncomfortable, right? Then we can talk more over dinner later.”
Isabella wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief and got up.
“You’ve done a lot taking care of the princess on your own.”
She gave Leah a light hug before leaving.
A few days later, late at night.
Johann returned later than usual and came to find Leah.
“You’re going to see the Crown Prince now?”
“Yes. It was decided suddenly today, so I couldn’t tell you earlier.”
“Is it okay to go to the palace this late?”
“We’re not going to the palace itself, but somewhere on the outskirts.”
Leah tilted her head.
“I figured meeting at the palace could risk leaks, so I chose an abandoned house as the meeting place.”
“…Ah.”
“Change into these.”
Johann handed her an old black robe and a plain dress.
After changing, she followed Johann to a shabby four-wheeled carriage.
The driver was Sir Harry, also in disguise.
The carriage was sturdier than it looked from the outside.
“It’s a disguise carriage, so the inside feels different from the outside.”
Makes sense—if the inside were shabby too, it would be harder to protect against enemies.
“Duke, there’s a message from Dorothea.”
“Oh?”
“She says she’s ready to talk and to come by whenever you have time.”
“When should we meet?”
“I can come as soon as tomorrow.”
They wanted to resolve the Empress issue quickly—for her, and for the people around her.
“Alright, then let’s do that.”
“Um, how much does His Highness know?”
“For now, I only told him you’re his cousin.”
“…What was his reaction?”
He must have been very surprised to hear his cousin, thought dead, was alive.
“I had to struggle to stop him from rushing to see you immediately.”
He answered, looking troubled.
“Really?”
Leah also wanted to see him—the cousin she had missed—more than the Crown Prince Mathias.
“Sir, we’ve arrived.”
After running through the dark for a while, the carriage finally reached the meeting spot.
Leah took Johann’s hand and got out.
“Is it here?”
“Yes, let’s go this way.”
An empty-looking three-story building stood alone.
“Don’t worry. His Highness’ personal guards and Blumhardt’s knights are watching from the shadows.”
“Okay.”
Johann led Leah to the second floor.
“Go ahead and wait inside.”
Johann stopped at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Your Highness, we’re here.”
As Johann opened the door, Mathias strode toward Leah.
“…Oh, my God.”
Tears welled up in Mathias’ eyes as he grabbed her shoulders and hugged her tightly.
“So you were Alicia….”
