Chapter 116
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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
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Chapter 116
I remembered the multiple identification badges I had seen in the Grunvalt House storage shed.
"I saw them when I went into the storage shed. There was one that Dale mainly used, remember?"
"...."
"It didn't match what was registered with the Mercenary Guild."
Yesterday I had nearly been thrown out of Black Tail, but I managed to push the door open again and succeeded in learning about the mercenary named Dale.
"None of the identification badges Dale possessed matched. Mercenaries typically don't conduct thorough background checks. But Black Tail investigates when you join. Thoroughly."
"...."
"I went there knowing that. But only the information 'Dale' was recorded—there was almost nothing known about his past before that."
"...."
"His only current occupation was mercenary."
The identification badges in the storage shed and the personal records showing different histories.
There was no way Black Tail had gotten Dale's information wrong or didn't have it. If an adult had virtually no history like that, their identity would be inaccurate, and they wouldn't have been accepted into the organization in the first place.
Yet Dale became an affiliated mercenary.
S-rank, but not the highest tier, and there was no reason for special treatment upon joining.
Either the identification badges were false or Black Tail was wrong—either way, something wasn't right.
But I didn't seem to be as shocked as I expected. Rather, I was surprised at myself for not being surprised.
Perhaps I had unconsciously sensed something suspicious about Dale all along.
His silence, offering no excuses, only deepened my certainty.
"Why did you try to prevent our contract from ending? There's a reason, isn't there?"
Dale's expression had grown dark and pale, like someone who had abandoned everything. Despite knowing him for months, he now felt like a stranger.
"Why didn't you avoid me when you met me?"
"...."
"...Did you think that since we've grown closer, you could gradually reveal who you are?"
Perhaps my subconscious had known all along. My heart may have simply wanted to ignore what I was beginning to notice.
I stood at a distance and covered Dale's face with my hand. His jaw became visible, and his lips.
I didn't need to search far to know where I had seen this, where I had heard his voice.
The resigned gaze and the lips that had never once parted froze in place.
"That's right. Your Majesty."
My hand fell limply away.
I stared at the figure standing across from me—or should I say, The Emperor.
The Emperor wore an expression of composure, as if he had prepared and rehearsed this moment beforehand.
His appearance extinguished even the smallest hope.
It had all been intentional.
Everything, from the very beginning, he had approached me with calculated precision....
"Ha...."
I bit down hard, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill over.
"You weren't replaced midway through, were you? It's been The Emperor from the beginning, right?"
He said nothing, only staring at me. Just me. For a stretch of time whose beginning and end I couldn't discern, only me.
"...Enya?"
"..."
"Did you take the contract because you needed money? The Emperor?"
The anger I'd been pressing down erupted through me like a sharp blade.
"Did you really do this on purpose? It wasn't coincidence?"
"..."
"Just happened to find out where I was going, and just happened to have a villa in Grunvalt, and just happened to have me enter The Emperor's house... there's no such thing as coincidence like that, is there? I couldn't have misunderstood?"
The Emperor, who had been listening quietly, finally looked at me.
Even a miraculous probability could be a misunderstanding that occurred.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
That's it, then.
I squeezed my eyes shut and turned to gather my belongings.
"I'm leaving."
As I grasped the handle, The Emperor's arm touched mine.
"You can't."
"Yes, I can."
Smack!
I shook off The Emperor's arm.
"You're neither my husband nor my boyfriend. What are you? Who are you?"
"Enya. Please."
"It's Miss Enya, thank you. Dale never called me that way."
I flailed my arm, deflecting The Emperor's approach. I could see his golden eyes wavering in confusion.
"Our contract marriage, our real romance—it's all over! Over! Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't even think about holding me back. We're nothing to each other!"
"...Even a stranger passing by has the right to stop someone from doing something dangerous."
"Then we're worse than strangers."
The Emperor sighed, his massive frame bending like a door. What was he doing? I glared at him with narrowed eyes.
"If you tie your shoelaces like this, your shoes will come off."
"..."
What's wrong with my shoes? I was about to say, but instead I glared at the laces that had come undone.
The Emperor, kneeling on one knee, retied my shoes for me with his own hands.
As he pulled the laces tight, he looked up at me. I'll grant him this—his eyes were honest. The Emperor was a genius at acting.
He looked as though he truly cared for me and loved me.
But now I don't even know what he was thinking when he approached me.
"Dangerous monsters often appear at night. I'll go out, so you stay at the mountain lodge."
"I don't want to. I'm going. The Emperor is an important person to The Empire—if you go out, it'll cause an even bigger problem."
"...Are you worried about me?"
"No. If you follow me, I'll hate you forever, so absolutely don't come."
I laid down a heavy threat.
Whether it worked or not, The Emperor wore the most wounded expression I'd seen in the past few minutes.
"You said being hated by me scares you most. Since you deceived me, Your Majesty, experience being hated starting now."
"...Still, I cannot leave you alone in the darkness."
"I told you not to move!"
He flinched as he tried to stand, then froze completely motionless. He gazed at me with dimmed eyes.
"From now on, don't move a single step from here. If you move even slightly, I'm marrying another man tomorrow."
I felt a flash of killing intent flicker across his deep gaze.
"So don't you dare follow me."
I moved my feet slowly, inch by inch.
The Emperor didn't rise to follow me, and seizing the opportunity, I kicked open the door and fled in that instant.
Without looking back, I continued running down the snow-covered path.
My feet sank heavily into the ground and the cold bit at me, yet strangely my chest ached more than my feet or body.
I ran to a place where The Emperor couldn't possibly follow, then stopped. My legs gave out and I collapsed face-first onto the accumulated snow.
"My face is numb...."
I'd fallen into the snowfield, but it wasn't soft at all—it was bitterly cold, and my skin stung. Especially my eyes throbbed, and tears spilled out.
I knew Dale was suspicious.
I didn't know Dale was The Emperor.
"Stupid idiot."
Even pounding the ground furiously couldn't dispel the bitter feeling. I'd been played for months without realizing anything. Stupid idiot.
I wept and got to my feet.
"I need to go home...."
It was a night where I'd learned everything I needed to know, yet felt utterly disgusted.
"Sigh...."
I sighed deeply and pulled out a scroll. If Emma found out about this state I'm in..., no. Emma's probably in on it too, right?
I felt like I didn't want to go anywhere.
Riiiiip—.
The moment I tore the teleportation scroll, light flashed brilliantly, but I wasn't safely transported to the Capital....
"?"
What? A defective one? I pulled out a spare scroll and tore it.
But the situation was identical.
"...? Am I going crazy? Wait a second?"
I tore another scroll from my generous supply, but I was still in the middle of the Snowy Field.
Whiiiiing—!
Then the wind blew, and a thought surfaced in my mind.
Ah....
Could it be....
"Teleportation magic is affected by weather...."
* * *
"No—! This can't be happening—!"
It was an endless succession of situations that felt like I was losing my mind. Snow had begun falling on the mountain.
My feet were half-frozen, and my body trembled uncontrollably from the cold. I looked around desperately.
The trail markers seemed off, and I found myself circling the same areas repeatedly. At this rate, I would freeze to death.
'But I won't go back to the Mountain Lodge where The Emperor is—not even if it kills me.'
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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
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