“Lord Hale, I apologize.”
As soon as Senika had been escorted back to her room, Rita entered the office and immediately knelt with her forehead nearly touching the ground.
However, Hale gazed down at her with his pale blue eyes and showed no trace of displeasure, only tired indifference. His long lashes fluttered idly, brushing the shadows beneath his eyes.
“Stand up.”
“I’m not worthy to face you, my lord.”
“I said, stand.”
After a moment’s hesitation and a tight bite to her lip, Rita slowly rose to her feet with her head bowed.
“I tried my best to stop her, but—”
“Enough. Let Senika do as she wishes.”
“But…”
“It’s time I let go.”
Hale leaned his cheek against one hand and propped his elbow on the armrest. His voice was quiet and light.
Rita’s eyes were briefly filled with sorrow before she quickly masked it. Hale despised that look. She was grateful she had kept her head down.
“Sometimes I think… maybe Erilyn sent Senika to me so I wouldn’t stay trapped in the past.”
“…My lord.”
Her heart tightened as she raised her head before she could stop herself. Rita locked eyes with Hale.
He lifted a brow.
“You’re wearing the look I hate most.”
The words were cold with tone biting. And then—A wave of pheromone spread through the room like an arctic wind, sharp enough to raise goosebumps all over Rita’s body.
Yet as quickly as it appeared, it dissipated into the air.
In House Evienne, only one person could manipulate pheromones with that much precision.
“…Just kidding.”
“…”
“Let Senika do whatever she wants. Send the bill to Theo.”
Hale smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened.
“Are you… really okay with this?”
“Hmm? Did I say I was?”
“…”
“I’m trying to be.”
To anyone else, Hale might have seemed composed. Rita, with her gift for healing pheromones, could see right through him—she could see the blackened and exhausted core inside.
He was trying to carry everything on his own again. It pained her.
“You may go.”
“…Yes, my lord.”
Once outside, Rita leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
The memories she had tried so hard to forget rose to the surface.
The garden Hale had barred off… was Erilyn’s favorite place when she was alive. She had grown every plant in it herself, from seed to bloom—even the rarest flowers and trees.
It was a garden brimming with warmth and love. A place Hale had cherished, too—until she was poisoned.
After Erilyn’s death, Hale had collapsed.
He stopped eating, withdrew from the world, and refused to even care for the egg that would become his heir.
In other words, he ran away.
He had loved her that deeply.
Rita thought it was fortunate that the head of the Heukryong’s happened to visit back then.
She still remembered the sting of those days clearly.
No one knew what was said in the room when Hale met with Heukryong’s matriarch, Vivian, but after that meeting, he slowly began to return to himself.
Yet there was one thing Hale could never bring himself to do—acknowledge Erilyn’s death.
Even when evidence appeared.
Rita recalled that he looked the other way when the proof surfaced. A single strand of platinum-blonde hair, wavy and long was found near Erilyn. Rita could never forget it.
Thankfully, Theo had kept it all this time. When Senika was born, the memory of that hair came rushing back.
Not just for Rita, but for the entire Baekryong household.
From that day forward, Hale began to change again.
Rita silently begged, Please, please let Senika be the gift our lord so desperately needs.
From this moment on, she decided—whether it brought fortune or ruin, she would stake everything on Senika.
Late at night, a conversation is still echoing in Hale’s office.
“Theo.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Theo.”
“You want me gone? Fine. Just give me a vacation and I’ll disappear!”
Hale looked at his aide with exasperation.
Theo, unbothered by the stare, had sprawled on the office floor like a dead fish with his eyes closed.
The situation?
Theo was overwhelmed by a sudden increase in workload, and had barged into Hale’s office demanding a break.
This was nothing new for Hale. The tactic hadn’t worked in decades, but Theo still tried it.
“Where exactly do you think you’re going, with so much to do?”
“I’m not asking for a week—just one day!”
“Why should I give you vacation time I don’t even have?”
“But you approve everyone else’s leave requests without even reading them!”
“They’re not essential to the mansion. You are.”
That one shut Theo up. He rubbed the back of his neck in defeat. There was a time when this kind of plea used to work. Well, not anymore.
Theo reluctantly sat up.
“Ready to work now?”
“Nope.”
“I pay you well.”
“This has nothing to do with my salary.”
“Sounds like you’re okay with a pay cut then.”
“Absolutely not!”
No vacation and a pay cut? Over his dead body!
He bit his tongue, suppressing the urge to scream.
“…Actually, I do have something I need you to do. If you handle it well, I might give you two days off—”
“I’LL DO IT.”
The moment Hale said “vacation,” Theo’s brain shut off. He had signed the deal before even knowing the terms.
Theo thought: Not that it mattered, I’d be forced to do it anyway.
He dusted himself off and stood by Hale’s side.
“Track the Empress’s movements over the past year.”
“…Excuse me?”
“We have to protect Senika.”
Theo frowned. What did the Empress have to do with Senika? He thought confusedly, she never even left the mansion.
Seeing Theo’s face, Hale sighed heavily.
Why do I keep such an idiot around as my aide…?
Yet he explained gently.
“Before the elders discover any connection between Senika and the Imperial family, I want to be ready.”
“…Ah!”
Finally, it clicked for Theo.
Senika had platinum hair—faintly tinged with gold.
In this world, golden hair only belonged to the Imperial Family or the Hwangryong’s. Since Senika was human, the answer was obvious.
“You think she’s from the Imperial bloodline?”
“No. She was born from the egg I guarded so she’s my child.”
“Then what exactly are you trying to find out?”
“You know the Empress and Elder Richt are working together, right?”
“My lord, do you think I’m that clueless?”
Hale nodded solemnly.
Theo snorted.
“You’re the one who hired me, remember?”
“If I’d known you were an idiot, I wouldn’t have.”
“Rude!”
Still, Theo couldn’t help but laugh.
It was rare for Hale to tease but now wasn’t the time to joke around.
“No matter how much Richt wanted to interfere, he wouldn’t have been able to swap the egg.”
“Agreed. There were too many guards.”
“Which means… he tried something else.”
Hale tapped his desk with serious expression.
“If we track the Empress’s movements from the last year, we’ll likely find something.”
“Oh, of course!”
Hale clicked his tongue and gave Theo a small push with his pheromones.
“Fine, fine—I’m going! But I expect those vacation days!”
They might bicker like this, but they trusted each other. Theo was one of the few dragons Hale truly relied on.
As Theo left, Hale stood, thinking he can finally take a bath but… Theo hadn’t left yet.
He stood at the door with hand on the knob, clearly deep in thought.
“…Why are you just standing there?”
“My lord… What if we uncover something we weren’t meant to see?”
“What do you mean?”
Hale tilted his head.
There aren’t many things he would hesitate to say to him.
Theo hesitated, lowering his gaze.
“…Speak.”
“…What if it’s about Lady Erilyn’s death?”
The name turned Hale’s relaxed face to stone.
“Some still believe the Imperial Family… and certain elders… were behind it.”
“…”
“I still have the strand of hair we found back then. If you ever want—”
“Theo.”
The air turned glacial. Crystals of frost shimmered around Hale.
It was his emotions—manifested.
“Keep it safe. I’m done running from the truth.”
“My lord…”
“I have someone to protect now. I can’t afford to be weak.”
Perhaps he had been avoiding it. The truth of her death. But not anymore. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
“…Killing the bastards who murdered Erilyn too easily wouldn’t be any fun, would it?”
There was a sharp glint in Hale’s pale blue eyes.
Theo gulped, a chill racing down his spine.
“…I’ll do my job properly.”
“Good.”
Once Theo was gone, Hale stood alone in his office. For the first time in a while, he let himself think.
When he learned that a human—not a dragon—had hatched from the egg, he had been furious.
He thought someone had tampered with it.
That didn’t mean he ever doubted Senika was his child but there was a time he felt nothing for her.
Until he met her.
In that moment, every doubt and every hesitation melted away.
She was Erilyn’s child—anyone could see it.
Even if her hair was a bit different, there was no mistaking it.
He thought he had buried Erilyn in the past but when he saw Senika, every emotion he had forced down for thirty years came flooding back.
So he gave her his love—All the love he couldn’t give Erilyn because she was gone and he still remained.
Even if Senika didn’t want it, he would pave the road before her.
He would smooth every stone, clear every thorn.
So that whatever life awaited her—
Whatever path she chose to walk—
She would walk it freely.
And never be alone.
