[Chapter 95]
“By the way, where did Kaise go? He said he’d be here soon.”
Lemoni’s muttered words, clearly audible from the bench, echoed in my ears.
So he was late because he was really guarding Lemoni.
It could have been something I passed by naturally without noticing. But because my steps and gaze had already stopped, the air between Kaise and me became awkward. I could feel the stiffening expression on Kaise’s face beside me.
“Princess…”
“It’s fine. That Lemoni is the real Lemoni, so it makes sense.”
I, too, was the real Lemoni.
“Let’s go quickly.”
I forced a small smile and tried to move forward, but I couldn’t help but freeze again, stiff as ice, as I noticed something.
Deon looked happy from behind while talking with Lemoni. The faint smile seeping through the sharp side profile as he gazed at her, the way his upper body subtly leaned in to listen better—it was clear that Deon seemed more at ease with her than with me.
“Is that true? I’ll have to remind you firmly.”
I didn’t know what they were talking about, but when Lemoni’s words ended, a clear, bell-like laugh resonated through the fortress, causing passing monsters to glance her way. Of course, Deon’s cold gaze quickly forced them to avert their eyes and continue on. Lemoni seemed unaware of any of it—unaware that Deon was simultaneously alert to others while focusing on her, or that his tilted posture and chin-resting gaze carried genuine affection.
Was it too natural, perhaps?
“Wow, the bastard’s smiling.”
That’s when I heard a low, husky voice near my ear.
“…Ian?”
“Do not approach the princess.”
I turned my head to see Ian standing opposite Kaise, a charming smile on his face, as he reached out his hand in a blocking gesture.
“You didn’t even touch your princess.”
He stood with one leg cocked and a firm grip on a nearby column, subtly leaning his upper body forward. Kaise frowned in displeasure, but as Ian sneakily positioned his face just above my shoulder, we ended up staring toward the bench together.
“Lemoni, are you jealous?”
The question was painfully obvious. It seemed better not to respond.
“That woman is you, isn’t she? Then this bastard is practically smiling at you. Still upset?”
It was clear Ian wanted to see my reaction. Just as I was about to speak, something suddenly blocked my view, and startled, I stepped back only to bump my head against a firm chest.
“What—?”
“Then how about a little mood change with me?”
His hand was extended politely in my now clear line of sight. But I suspected his real goal was teasing me. I gave him a suspicious glare, yet the confident curve of his lips radiated satisfaction, as if monopolizing my attention was all he wanted.
“Ian.”
“Hm?”
Of course, that didn’t mean I had lowered my guard with him. I firmly refused his hand and quickly turned my head, changing the subject.
“I heard you suddenly accepted Deon’s side coming here. Why the change of heart? They say it was your unilateral decision.”
“Oh, that.”
As I shifted my gaze back to Deon, I felt Ian’s disappointed look on top of my head, but he still answered politely.
“Curious?”
“Of course. It’s about the war.”
“I’d like to explain, but… hmm?”
“Excuse me?”
“The story’s too long to explain here.”
I frowned.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“How about we talk over tea? That would be easier.”
Ian crossed his arms, tilted his head, and gave me a playful smile.
He wanted me to go with him. I pressed my lips together. Even though I had been imprisoned by Ian, I didn’t want to have a private conversation with him. But if I didn’t go now, he probably wouldn’t tell me anything either.
“Kaise, I’ll be back shortly.”
With a sigh, I admitted defeat. Kaise stepped closer.
“It’s dangerous. I’ll go with you.”
“I’m right here. How’s it dangerous?”
“Exactly why it’s dangerous.”
This was about to turn into a shouting match.
“It’s fine. We’ll just talk between ourselves.”
I quietly stopped Kaise. He flinched slightly and frowned, but the attention of those around us was already drawn by the tense exchange between Ian and Kaise.
I thought I even saw Deon’s gaze in there. Meeting his red eyes, I realized he wasn’t speaking but was carefully watching my expression, as if ready to intervene if I looked troubled.
Should I tell Deon? Should I say I’m in trouble? Or that Ian wants something from me?
“Lemoni, we need to go.”
Yet, staring into Deon’s vivid red eyes, I found myself holding Ian’s hand as if in a trance. I didn’t know why—maybe because he didn’t approach me, didn’t greet me, and didn’t act guarded like in prison.
“Admit it, Kim Eunji. Admit you were worried about me, that you didn’t want to be apart from me.”
It was probably because he, who had exposed my feelings I didn’t want anyone to see, didn’t even acknowledge me properly.
After that, everything escalated quickly. Ian led me out of the garden and into a reception room with an antique tea table, before Deon could say anything.
Once the door closed, the outside noise faded away. It felt like stepping into another world.
“I did well, didn’t I?”
I was still shaken by Deon’s sense of betrayal lingering in the silence when a dark shadow suddenly approached me.
“…What?”
It was Ian.
“You just gave that bastard a taste of his own medicine, didn’t you?”
He didn’t let go of my hand and quietly instructed the servant to prepare tea before seating me. Did he really make Deon jealous? Well, Deon had been obsessed with the past Lemoni; I had just been caught up in it.
“Ian.”
“Hm?”
I noticed him staring at me from across the table, but I forgot I had called him. Now, everything seemed clear. My focus had never been Deon.
Survive. Return alive. That was my goal.
Memories of the hardships at Drace Prison flashed before me, and I let out a bitter laugh. Why had I been so easily manipulated by Deon? Same with Ian. I both hated him and felt powerless, like a puppet with its strings cut.
What had made me like this?
“Especially the Duchy of Christina is so powerful that even the emperor of the Southern Empire can’t touch it. Some say the Southern Empire’s real military power is under the Christina Duchy’s control.”
“Lemoni?”
“The reason why the negotiations were accepted will be explained at the meeting.”
“Huh? A meeting?”
Ian seemed unusually flustered at my sudden comment, but I ignored him and left the reception room. Remembering Cedric’s explanation, I no longer had doubts. I had to survive. At Drace Prison, cut off from the Southern Empire, I might have been manipulated, but not here.
Especially as the real Lemoni.
“Kaise. Lead me to the Southern Empire’s communications office.”
“Yes, understood.”
Kaise, waiting, seemed slightly puzzled at my changed demeanor but asked no questions and guided me to the room where the Southern Empire’s knights stayed.
“Princess?”
“Princess. What is it?”
The knights were startled by my sudden entrance. Without greeting, I scribbled something on the paper beside the communications office.
“By the way, Princess, why is the communications office—”
I pressed the folded note firmly with my fingers and tied it to the officer’s leg, then quickly turned to face the knights.
“You know how to shoot a gun, right?”
The Southern Empire was still an empire. They weren’t creatures to tremble like frightened mice.
On the day of the negotiation, a moderately sized meeting room had a long table and two chairs prepared. Ernmenst knights stood firmly outside the closed doors. Though they looked human, their eyes emanated the raw, frightening aura of beasts.
“Step aside.”
The midlands group arrived next. Expressionless, the knights stepped aside to make way as Deon entered the meeting room. And thus, the meeting began.
Everything seemed normal, but tension simmered between the Ernmenst knights waiting in the corridor and the midlands monsters. The outcome of their leaders leaving the room could turn the quiet hallway into a battlefield in an instant.
Suddenly, the gazes of the two groups, still staring into the void with their hands behind their backs, shifted. Another group was approaching the meeting room from afar.
It wasn’t the Western Empire nor the midlands.
It was Princess Christina.
“…Princess?”
With the heavy sound of her boots, a long firearm hung from her back as she walked in.
