Episode 6. Did I Safely Return to the Past?
At that very moment, deep inside the imperial palace, a secret conversation was taking place.
On the highest seat, behind a luxurious curtain, sat a middle-aged man with golden hair.
Resting his arms on the golden chair’s armrests, he looked at the woman standing outside the curtain.
She was a voluptuous woman with rich, red hair.
The man’s dry voice slipped out between his lips.
“After you revealed your relationship with Henderson, how did my daughter react?”
“She became furious. It was the first time I ever saw her lose her composure. She even threw tea on my face.”
The woman’s lips curved with a faint smile—so calm, as if she had never been humiliated at all.
“Lady Riley must be certain now that the Duke Henderson and I shared an affair.”
A faint smile also touched the emperor’s mouth.
Of course. She had no choice but to believe it. That’s why I forced them apart for a year—to make her doubt him.
“You’ve done well. You’ve played your role faithfully.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The woman was Helena. Together, she and the emperor had been plotting in secret for a long time.
Their goals were slightly different, but close enough to cooperate.
“Helena. And what is it you desire most…?”
The emperor trailed off, waiting for her to finish the thought.
Helena answered without hesitation, as though it was a truth she had prepared long ago.
“What I want is Duke Henderson.”
Their aims were similar: Helena wanted Henderson, while the emperor wanted Riley to divorce him.
Even if Riley got hurt in the process—even if Eddie suffered—it didn’t matter.
The son of a bastard? I will never allow him into the royal family. Impossible. And according to the prophecy, it’s better if Riley divorces him anyway.
The emperor’s lips twisted stubbornly.
“If you finish this to the end, the duke will be yours.”
“I hope that time comes soon,” Helena replied eagerly.
Helena had loved Henderson for a long time—long before he loved Riley, back when he was rejected by his own family.
But Henderson had chosen Riley.
Helena hated Riley so much it made her tremble, and she despised their child, Eddie, even more.
Still, she kept her feelings hidden and stayed close, especially near Eddie, waiting for a chance to kill him.
To Henderson, she acted like a loyal friend, listening to his troubles whenever the emperor tormented him.
Because of this, she even discovered his secret deal with the emperor—the very reason he had deliberately ignored Riley.
It was a truth he could never tell Riley.
Armed with this knowledge, Helena went to the emperor and offered her cooperation.
And whenever Henderson grew weary, she whispered promises of a “happy future” to comfort him.
Thinking about this made her laugh under her breath.
“Future together.”
“Secrets his wife cannot know.”
Riley must have been shocked to overhear such things.
Indeed, Helena had already noticed that Riley secretly spied on them one night. She had deliberately exaggerated her words for Riley’s ears.
She believed it immediately. She didn’t even doubt my claim that Henderson and I were lovers.
How pitiful. How foolish.
The emperor spoke, wrapping up the meeting.
“That will depend on how well you handle things.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You may leave now.”
Helena bowed deeply and left the chamber.
Meanwhile, the emperor remained alone, remembering the words he once told Henderson:
“One year. If, after a year apart, Riley still loves you, I will no longer oppose you. Consider it my recognition.”
But to Henderson, it was a cruel lie.
The emperor had no intention of keeping that promise.
He wanted their relationship to collapse completely.
That one-year separation was simply a trap, a stepping stone to achieve his wish.
And with Helena’s help, his plan was almost complete.
I was lost in a long dream.
Fragments of my forgotten past flickered through my mind like a panorama.
A younger me. A huge room. Flames filling the entire space.
I was just a child, trapped inside a room full of fire, crying endlessly.
I screamed for help until my throat was raw, but no one came.
Fear gripped me. I felt nothing but despair.
I’m scared. Please, someone, anyone—save me.
Just then, smoke filled my lungs and burned my throat—
Bang!
The locked door burst open with a thunderous crash.
A boy, about my age, rushed in.
Unafraid of the raging fire, he came straight to me.
He wrapped his arms around me tightly.
His hands on my back felt warmer than the flames, yet his body carried a cool, refreshing scent.
So different from the choking smoke.
I clung to his neck desperately.
“Don’t worry. I’ll save you.”
His young voice echoed in my ears, broken into fragments like whispers in the wind.
“…!”
I woke suddenly.
The fire was gone.
The boy was gone.
I lay there, gasping for breath.
That dream again—the one that always left me with a strange sense of longing.
I had dreamed it before, many times.
But every time I woke, the images blurred.
I was sure someone had saved me… but I could never remember who.
That forgotten memory must have been tied to the fire accident in the Ramsey Empire, when I was ten.
After being rescued from the fire, I had been unconscious for nearly a month.
When I finally woke, not only the fire but also many other events in Ramsey had been erased from my memory.
The shock of the flames must have been too great.
Still, those forgotten memories often returned in dreams, as if urging me to remember.
“Don’t worry. I’ll save you.”
Should I try to recall the boy who spoke those words?
I had once begged my parents to tell me everything about that day.
But they only shook their heads.
“It may only bring you more pain, my dear. Sometimes it’s better to forget bad memories.”
So I buried the accident deep inside, convinced it was better that way.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on childhood accidents or recurring dreams.
I pushed the thoughts aside and sat up, brushing my hair back with my fingers.
As I cleared my head, the memories of last night returned.
Eddie’s death.
The disappointment in Henderson, who had shared an affair with Helena.
And my deal with that mysterious man.
“…Did I really make it back to the past safely?”
At last, I looked around me.
