Chapter 97
Lloyd smiled faintly at my question.
“Was it the Imperial soldiers that made you uncomfortable?”
I wasn’t even sure myself.
I didn’t know why this place gave me such a restless, uneasy feeling.
I felt sorry for Lloyd—he had surely gone to great trouble to secure this safe place for me and Denian—but a part of me kept wanting to run away.
Perhaps sensing my unease, Lloyd gently wrapped my hand in his and spoke kindly.
“The Emperor favors me and entrusted me with important tasks. This place was given to me as a reward.”
The Emperor…
Perhaps it was because that word referred to someone so distant and untouchable, but just hearing it made my heart pound anxiously.
Lloyd seemed to misunderstand my expression and continued, almost pleading.
“Valdormer has people searching everywhere for you.”
The memory of Kallian’s obsessive behavior before I left the mansion came back vividly.
His words—‘Even in death, I will keep you by my side’—had not sounded like a lie.
I could still feel that burning, dangerous gaze of his, as if he were ready to devour me the moment our eyes met.
And if he ever discovered Denian’s existence…
I thought of Kallian from my first life—cold and heartless toward his own child, seeing the baby only as the blood of an enemy house.
Even now, I could not completely dismiss the fear that Kallian might have been the one who killed my child back then.
All the more reason Denian’s existence must never be revealed to him.
Sensing my anxiety, Lloyd gently stroked my hand and bent down to meet my eyes.
“No matter how powerful Valdormer is, they can’t touch this place under Imperial protection. Trust me and endure it a little longer.”
His gentle voice calmed my racing heart.
He was right.
If Valdormer’s pursuers were growing more aggressive, it was safer to endure the discomfort and stay here for now.
When I slowly nodded, Lloyd’s voice softened even more.
“Thank you, Yuliana. If you ever feel too confined, you can go out with an escort. Just tell me anytime.”
“…I’m fine.”
I forced a small smile, and Lloyd returned it with a smooth, charming grin.
On the border facing Heister, 100,000 Valdormer soldiers were lined up.
At their head rode Kallian, clad in black armor and mounted on a black warhorse.
The Imperial family placed no real restrictions on wars between the great houses.
Among the five great houses, the Pabeluf family held the imperial throne, but the other houses were originally equal in status.
The Emperor even encouraged conflicts between the houses to keep any single one from growing too powerful.
Because of this, rivalries among the great houses deepened, allowing the Pabeluf dynasty to hold the throne for generations.
Kallian clenched his teeth as he imagined the Emperor secretly rejoicing at this war.
Don’t celebrate too soon, he thought.
The next target will be the Imperial family itself.
Of course, until the day he could place his sword at the Emperor’s throat, Kallian would show no weakness.
This war might look like a simple explosion of long-standing hatred between Valdormer and Heister,
but in truth it was a move to eliminate both Heister and the Imperial loyalists hiding among the vassal lords.
Kallian slowly surveyed the battlefield.
The Heister army, having received his declaration of attack, was already spread out in defensive formation.
He had fought countless wars across many lifetimes, but this one felt different.
Now he had nothing left to lose, nowhere to retreat.
There would be no mercy, no hesitation—only the relentless act of cutting down the enemy.
That was the sole reason he remained in this world.
His eyes turned icy as he stared at the enemy lines.
It was time to sweep away the parasites clinging to his path.
“Ah-boo… ah-woo…”
I couldn’t help but smile at Denian, babbling energetically in his cradle.
It had already been two months since we began living here.
Now five months old, Denian could roll over on his own and babbled happily.
“What are you trying to say, little one?”
I gently tickled his side, watching him with love.
Denian burst into a giggle and raised his arms, asking to be held.
I gladly lifted him into my arms and began to walk slowly.
This small cottage, built near the castle, had been a gift from Lloyd after he noticed how uneasy I felt inside the fortress.
Here, away from the constant eyes of servants and soldiers, I could rest peacefully with Denian.
Though soldiers still patrolled nearby—it was technically still within the castle’s domain—
to me, this private space was a blessing.
The cottage had been built to look exactly like the hut in Marcellino where Denian had been born.
Perhaps because of that, I felt calmer here, and even Denian seemed happier.
He laughed more and slept better here than inside the castle.
Holding Denian, I stepped outside and looked at the river flowing in front of the cottage.
Whenever an empty, suffocating feeling welled up inside me,
I would stand here and watch the water drift by, letting its steady flow soothe me.
If I just let life flow like the river, will this strange emptiness eventually fade?
“Ah-boo! Ah-boo-oo!”
Denian reached his tiny hands toward the sunset sparkling on the river’s golden surface,
as if trying to grab the glittering light.
Smiling at his innocent gesture, I slowly lifted my gaze to the darkening sky.
It was getting late.
It was time to return to the castle.
Today was special—Lloyd was returning from the Imperial capital after a week away—so I needed to hurry.
I carried Denian to the waiting carriage and climbed aboard.
The carriage followed its familiar route back to the castle.
When we arrived, servants bustled about, preparing for Lloyd’s return.
After laying the sleeping Denian in his room, I headed to the dining hall to greet him.
As I passed, I overheard two maids chatting while cleaning the tables.
“Did you hear? Valdormer broke through Heister’s first line of defense!”
“What? Already? If they broke it in just two months, Heister might lose this war.”
“But I heard Valdormer’s losses are huge too. Some say over thirty percent of their troops are already dead or wounded.”
One maid clicked her tongue.
“What a pointless war…”
“It’s all because of the long-standing hatred between Valdormer and Heister.”
War?
My heart dropped.
Valdormer and Heister… at war?
And it had already been two months?
I had no idea.
Living inside the boundaries Lloyd set, cut off from the outside world, I had heard nothing.
At first the confinement had felt stifling and uncomfortable,
but I endured it, believing it was all for my and Denian’s safety.
My only source of outside news was my conversations with Lloyd.
And yet he had never once mentioned this.
A sharp, bitter feeling of betrayal welled up inside me.
It wasn’t as if I had any right to be angry—
neither Valdormer nor Heister truly concerned me anymore.
But Lloyd had smiled at me, acting as though nothing was happening,
while secretly cutting me off from the world.
Both houses had once been part of my life.
I was furious that Lloyd had deliberately hidden their war from me.
“Yuliana?”
I turned to see Lloyd, freshly returned from his trip, calling my name warmly.
But I felt no joy at his arrival.
Seeing my tense expression, Lloyd’s face hardened in concern.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Even his gentle concern did nothing to ease my anger.
I knew, logically, why he might have thought it unnecessary to tell me.
In his mind, Valdormer and Heister no longer mattered to me.
But the fact remained: he had hidden the truth.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked quietly.
His face showed confusion.
“Tell you… what?”
“That Valdormer and Heister are at war.”
At last, Lloyd’s expression turned rigid.
