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Chapter 65

* * *

The house that had stood empty for over three years, approaching four.
The Lockhart Duchy Estate remained as though time itself had frozen within its walls.
I had vaguely assumed much would have changed, yet only the ‌‌‌roof bore fresh paint—everything else remained precisely as I had left ‌‌‌‌it.
I exhaled a long breath and... finally.
At last.
Inevitably.
There was no escaping it!
"This day has come at last."
I stood before the office of the Duke of Lockhart—my Father's office, that is.
A place I had returned to after nearly four years.
The mere thought of his stern visage beyond that door sent my body trembling. He must be furious beyond measure.
Would his anger rival that of my Grandfather when Aunt Corinne had rushed out and incurred his wrath?
It would be no less than that.
After all, I had genuinely troubled my Father, ‌‌a man of such prominence as ‌‌‌a Prime Minister.
I squeezed ‌my eyes shut and knocked upon the door!
Knock...
Knock, knock, knock...
"Ugh."
Knock, knock!
And the moment the door opened.
"I have erred!"
I slid forward on my knees and prostrated myself in apology.
I pressed myself flat against the floor until my ribs touched the ground.
"I am deeply sorry!"
It was a crude calculation—that swift punishment was ‌‌preferable to prolonged ‌‌‌anger, and that a humble bow might earn me some mercy.
Could he not ‌‌be somewhat less ‌‌‌angry with me?
Please?
"...."
With each moment Father remained silent, I felt as though I might ‌‌‌suffocate.
"Rise. Enya Lockhart."
"Yes!"
I sprang to my feet like a coiled spring and broke into the most radiant smile I had ever managed in my life.
"Ha ha, ha ‌‌ha, it's been so ‌‌‌long, hasn't it, Father? I've missed you terribly. You've been well, I trust?"
"Who might you be?"
Father—no, Duke Lockhart—set down his pen with elegant grace, his ‌‌‌sharp gaze fixed upon ‌‌me.
"I'm so glad to see you're still in good health! Ah—! The air in our home is wonderful—! You have no idea how much I've missed this place!"
"Sit."
"That's truly a ‌‌splendid idea! I was thinking the very same thing!"
I closed my mouth and settled obediently into the chair across from him.
Father had passed forty, yet he still possessed striking features.
I wanted to strongly insist that my parents bore some responsibility for my marriage to Dale, since they'd set ‌‌‌my standards so high with a face like that.
Even such idle thoughts seemed necessary to keep my body from trembling.
"Enya Lockhart."
"Yes, Father!"
"Your whereabouts all this time...."
"If I'm being truthful about it——"
"There's no need to speak of it ‌‌now."
Father cut me off without mercy.
"If I let you speak ‌now, you'll simply spin some simple lie and try to wriggle free. That much is obvious."
His acuity pierced my heart.
"Tell Adeline's Butler in detail. Once you've laid everything bare and he's compiled it into a report, I'll listen. For now, I'll ‌‌only address the reason I summoned you."
"Yes!"
"Are you injured or hurt anywhere?"
My eyes widened involuntarily at his question as he studied me.
His gaze was sharp, yet his eyes held ‌warmth.
"I need to know if you've suffered any hardship."
The warmth in his gaze stirred something strange within me. ‌‌‌
My chest tightened and my nose began to sting.
"...I'm sorry, Father. I've been such an unfilial daughter...."
"At least you know that much."
"I won't cause ‌‌‌‌you worry again. I was wrong."
"Is there any promise more abstract and untrustworthy than that?"
A pang of guilt.
His sharp observation sent a chill down my spine.
"Enya Lockhart, even at this very moment, you're not saying you'll never run away again. Am I wrong?"
This was a conversation between father and daughter, yet it felt ‌‌like an interrogation between criminal and torturer. Surely that was just my imagination?
But I was guilty, ‌so I had nothing to say.
I averted my eyes.
"Enya."
"...You know perfectly well! I have absolutely no ‌‌‌‌intention of marrying The Emperor. ‌‌‌I told you that from the very beginning!"
"You're old enough to ‌‌know that marriage isn't built on love alone, aren't you?"
"Yet you and Mother married for love!"
My emotions surged and I cried out.
"Why do I have to enter into a political ‌‌‌‌marriage with The Emperor?!"
"Because there's no one else."
Father answered matter-of-factly.
No one else... those words stung.
It was true—within House Lockhart, I was the only one whose ‌age, ‌circumstances, and other qualifications aligned with ‌‌‌a marriage to The ‌‌‌Emperor.
But what about The Emperor himself?
Wouldn't he prefer not to marry someone who despises him?
"Would His Majesty truly desire marriage to such a woman? I'm someone who fled and evaded him for years because I detested the very idea of marriage!"
"..."
"If I were The Emperor, I would reconsider this union."
"A subject cannot presume to fathom The Emperor's heart. Such matters should not occur in the first place."
His words cut through without a single blink, leaving me with nothing more to say.
"Enya."
Father looked at me.
"His Majesty has not expressed a desire to cancel the marriage. He is simply forgiving your discourtesy."
"Why ‌is he so magnanimous?"
"That is simply who His Majesty is." ‌‌‌‌
Father seemed to be an ardent admirer of The Emperor.
No matter what was said, his conclusion always circled back to ‌‌"Our Emperor is truly remarkable!"
It wasn't working on me at all.
"...What if there's something wrong with me?"
At the same moment, Father's eyebrows rose.
"What if I'm unqualified to be Empress?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Father's gaze sharpened.
There were numerous qualifications ‌required to become Empress, and the ‌‌verification was rigorous.
First was family lineage. ‌‌‌
Second was bloodline within that family.
Third was character.
Fourth was one's past.
Fifth was one's future.
Sixth was a healthy body.
Seventh was being unmarried.
I had violated the last one.
"...That is—!"
Just as I was about to spit out the words ‌‌in frustration, Dale's face suddenly gleamed in my mind.
If I confessed to being married, they would move heaven and earth to find Dale.
The kind, pitiful commoner ‌‌‌Dale would surely have his wings torn off in the terrifying grasp of House Lockhart.
"That is?"
"Well, it's just... that is...!"
"Surely not."
Father's expression darkened as understanding dawned on ‌‌‌him.
Had I been found out?
"Are you being hunted?"
Father's thoughts had veered in that direction.
"...."
"Whatever grave transgression you've committed, being wanted by the authorities certainly contradicts the Empress's standards. It's not a position anyone can ascend to, after all."
"That's, that's not ‌‌‌what I meant, Father!"
"But don't forget—if it's not you, then the woman Hexagon is backing will become Empress instead."
His words hovered somewhere between pressure and coercion.
My sophistry fell on deaf ears.
"When I discovered you'd sold the lands you inherited, I had you investigated to ensure you hadn't committed any other crimes. Fortunately, you hadn't."
"You had me investigated? And you're practically a Prime Minister!"
"Enya Lockhart." ‌‌
Father pressed the bridge of his ‌nose and regarded me obliquely, his voice glacial.
"That was merely a trifle."
The implication that he could do far worse sent chills racing down my spine.
No matter what happened, I could never let Father discover ‌Dale's existence.
"Now go. ‌‌‌Enya. You've run away and only just returned—you should rest at home. Since you're practically a stranger ‌‌‌‌here, the house must feel quite unfamiliar to you."
His subtle mockery stung, and I quietly left the ‌‌office.
Any further provocation might lead him to uncover Dale's existence.

* * *

"I don't have a ‌‌‌single moment of free time!"
From morning to evening, I was constantly summoned by the servants ‌‌‌‌to ‌‌‌recount every detail of my time away.
The interrogation was as intense as that of a criminal.
Well, of course. There was no ‌way they would let me rest easy.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
"Emmaaaa... I'm so exhausted..."
Emma, her expression full of concern, shoved a slice of cake into my mouth. ‌‌‌‌
"Mm, ugh."
"Oh my, you've been through so much."
"Emma, wait!"
"The Duke really is too much."
"Emma! I appreciate it, ‌‌‌but could you feed me a bit more slowly?"
"What did you say?!"
Emma suddenly burst out loudly. ‌‌‌‌‌
"Look ‌‌‌‌how thin you've become after all these years! In the past, our young lady would have swallowed a mere slice of cake in one bite—slowly, you say?!"
Emma, her expression one of shock, pinched my arm.
"All the flesh ‌has fallen away from you. Is your ‌husband starving you, Miss?"

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on ‌‌‌our official site: valirscans.org
---------------