Chapter 11 : Can't Escape (1)
Isota was speechless. For some reason, she felt like she was losing her mind.
So what she just heard was.....
Taking a moment to clean up her mind, she opened her mouth shortly afterwards.
"What you're saying is that Regina has healing powers and the empress dowager tabby is after it?"
"Yes."
"Oh, my God."
Kai's confident answer made her feel like her head was pounding for the first time in a while.
Suddenly, she felt sorry for Regina, who didn't even say a word about this huge fact.
But there was a problem that needed more attention right now. Now was not the time to listen to her feelings.
She raised her head and looked at Kai, who had a more serious expression than usual.
“How does she take away that ability? Is there a way?”
I didn't think that method would be peaceful because the word 'take' itself was already negative. The reason she asked was because she felt like she needed to know in advance what method the empress dowager would use.
“Logan didn't seem to know all that much about the details. He seemed to have already been alienated from the mansion. It felt like he was under surveillance."
"Haa... I'm going crazy."
Whether Kai reacted to the harsh words was no longer noticeable. Isota buried her face in her hands and sighed heavily.
Kai looked at her and touched the tips of his fingers. Now he was unusually anxious.
“What’s certain is that she’s someone who won’t care how much pain Regina suffers in the process.”
She knew what he was saying.
Isota, the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Rose, was pushed down the list of successors for a long time. But she thought she was better than those annoying brothers and sisters, so she planned to make herself a marquise somehow.
As part of that effort, she was studying on her own. Things like the way the social world works, the relationships between high-ranking nobles, and the political situation.
So she had some idea of what happened when Alicia was empress.
The answer to the question that the empress dowager is a consequentialist person can be found by looking at her previous actions.
Isota doesn't know what her purpose is, but empress dowager will justify using any means to achieve it.
Kai said while looking at Isota, who was still lowering his head.
“I think that’s why Duke Greroy is chasing Regina.”
To have Regina's abilities.
However, Isota, who had paused for a moment after hearing those words, buried herself in her palm and muttered in a muffled voice.
“...... I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.”
Kai gave her a questioning look. He thought she would definitely agree, because her answer was unexpected.
Kai wondered why she thought that. As if she knew his feelings, Isota continued to mumble.
“I was angry earlier and said something to that person.”
“What did you do again?”
Kai washed his face dry when he heard that she was angry with a higher-ranking person. A mixed look appeared in his light green eyes.
Her recklessness was attractive, but sometimes it could be a rush to death.
Unlike him who was worried, Isota just waved his words away and quickly raised her head.
“Anyway, that’s okay. But looking at that person’s reaction..…”
When he saw her again, her expression was very distorted. It seemed like she really didn't like what she was spitting out of her mouth right now.
“It seemed like he had feelings.”
Whatever it was, they were engaged for a certain period and lived in the same mansion, but what was more surprising was that they didn't have any feelings, positive or negative.
But Kai knew right away what she was saying.
So, it means that Arsene Greroy likes Regina Blois.
Arsene, who had crossed the border, ordered his men to follow Senia merchants whereabouts. When Regina crossed the border, she was assisted by Duchess Haynes, so it was possible that she accompanied her afterwards.
Under his command, they followed the actions of their superiors at great speed. They were well-trained and were able to narrow the distance in an instant, unlike the merchant guild, who had to move slowly because they had to lead several people.
However, they had to split up a few times, mainly because of Duchess Haynes.
In preparation for Arsene pursuit, Duchess Haynes took some people who looked like Regina out of the group and sent them elsewhere. They did not remove the traces of Regina, but made several so that they could not be distinguished.
Just in case Regina was really in the middle, she couldn't let even one of them go in vain. She made everyone who got out of the group go after them.
And Arsene was received reports of everything in real time through the very expensive magic communication tool given to them.
He came all the way to Misbrunn to catch Regina, but there was a reason why he didn't come forward in person.
"Welcome."
Morten Azadi greeted Arsene. The place where he was currently standing was Krasnata, the administrative agency where the head of the city was located, in the center of Misbrunn.
In any case, he couldn't go straight to find Regina because he was using the excuse of diplomacy.
Since the visit was half-threatening, the head of Azadi would have realized right away that diplomacy was not the goal, but stopping by Krasnata and meeting the chief was necessary for the sake of others' attention.
Arsene calmly smiled and greeted the chief.
“This place is always beautiful.”
He had been there before, so a familiar red building filled his field of vision. His mind was already following Regina's footsteps, but he leisurely walked down the corridor with the chief.
“You came at the perfect time as the weather was cool. Many flowers bloom in Krasnata during this period."
Morten Azadi, with his graying hair neatly trimmed, gave Arsene a tour of Krasnata, as he usually did with distinguished guests.
Arsene was not interested in whether flowers or trees were planted here, but he calmly accepted the chief guidance. Since he was in a foreign country, cooperating with them was a way to get things done quickly.
But his mind was already somewhere else and there was no way he could concentrate.
Arsene followed the chief side and followed where he pointed with his eyes, but at the same time received a report using a magic tool that looked like an earring.
“And here....."
While he listened to his subordinates with one ear, Morten continued to introduce his surroundings.
The chief was not one to welcome this visit anyway, so his attitude was not entirely pleasant. Now they both had a formal meeting.
But then, Arsene's eyes were fixed on one person. She was a dark-haired woman with her back turned. Judging from her attire, she seemed to be a maid working at Krasnata.
When he saw that black hair, he naturally thought of Regina. The hair that was gently held in his hand, like waves.
He doesn't think Regina could be here, but his violet eyes never left the sight behind him.
Because Regina was the only one with black hair to him. Even though he thought it wouldn't be, it was hard to take his eyes off her without even expecting it.
He looked at her like that for a while and only stopped paying attention when he confirmed that it wasn't Regina when the maid turned her head and revealed her face.
Morten Azadi looked at Arsene strangely and continued his explanation. He moved on as if nothing had happened, but the image remained strong in his memory.
After taking a short walk together, they then entered Chief Azadi's office. Then, they sat down with a cup of warm tea and pretended to have a peaceful atmosphere.
“Regarding the temporary closure of the border this time.... "
While they chatted for a while as if they were visiting on truly diplomatic matters, Morten could not find the crazy Arsene he had seen in the letter. However, he knew a certain amount about Arsene, even though he was a hundred and fifty years old. It means that he knew this was a perfect performance.
Towards the end of the story, Azadi said, while stroking his wrinkled hands.
“I prepared a banquet for you, albeit in a hurry.”
Although it is a diplomatic mission organized on short notice and is not very large in scale, and although it is said to have come under duress, a mission is still a mission. He didn't know what would come out if he was neglectful.
Even now, the banquet hall was in full swing preparing for them.
But no matter how dazzling the banquet was, it would not be able to attract Arsene's attention now.
"Thank you."
He answered with a formal smile. In one of his ears, a report was coming from the merchant part of Senia, confirming that one of the women who had split in the middle and moved to another place was not Regina.
Morten tilted his teacup to his mouth and looked at Arsene, who looked like a well-made statue.
When he saw Arsene before, he was colder than this and didn't seem human, which gave him goosebumps. Now he vaguely felt like he was human.
He heard Arsene recently got a fiancee. Is it because of that?
The chief, who drinking the lukewarm tea, roughly put the teacup down on the cup holder and notified the date.
"The banquet is four days from now. Rest well until then."
After the conversation ended, Morten had his servant guide Arsene to where he would stay.
The chief who had stood up and seen him off opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“For your information, if you cause trouble in our country, we will kick you out right away, so it would be good for you to know that."
He said it half-jokingly, but he meant it.
It was disgraceful to Morten that Arsene had been allowed to enter the country because he couldn't resist the threat. It was to show that he was offended, at least.
Moreover, it seemed like the purpose of Arsene's visit was not diplomatic, so it seemed like it would be even better to give this warning.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Arsene responded with a gentle smile. It was a relaxed attitude that it didn't matter much.
After parting ways with the chief, Arsene entered the space assigned to him and arranged the report that was coming in right now.
"Anardal?"
- Yes. It is said that there is a couple, a man and a woman, who separated from Ormos and headed to Anardal
-Yes. There is a pair of men and women separated from Ormos and headed for Anardal.
They chased after Duchess Haynes, now confirming one by one that the traces scattered were fake, and finally made their way to Ormos.
And there, they discovered that a person presumed to be Regina and a man had separated and moved to Anardal.
Arsene lightly stroked his chin and asked a question for confirmation.
“The woman has black hair.”
- She has long black hair that looks like a young lady.
But why are you with a man.
His mood suddenly worsened. Even though he wasn't sure if that person was really Regina.
Regina is moving alone with someone he doesn't know. It felt like she grabbed him by the collar and threw him in the mud. It felt like he was crawling around rubbing his face in the dirty muddy water.
He doesn't even want to think about it, but images of her smiling, hugging, and holding hands with others come to mind. It wasn't something he could control.
"....... "
If he had something in his hand now, it would have been on the list of broken items for an unknown number of times.
He couldn't tell whether what was boiling up was anger or sadness. However, it just felt like his stomach was turning to the point where he felt nauseous.
How can people change like this? Even he was surprised.
Certainly he was fond of her. It was not a shallow emotion simply because of liking.
As he acknowledged that, he felt the turbulent changes within him more clearly.
Admitting that, he felt more certain of the fluctuating change in him.
Arsene's complexion darkened in an instant as he received the report. His dark face made him look like he had walked out of the grave.
He wiped his face and spoke into the communication port. The voice was heavy, filled with all kinds of muddy emotions.
“I will come.”
He'll go check it out for himself, and if that's really Regina....
If it's true then.
Before he could finish his thought, his appearance disappeared.
*****
Isota was speechless. For some reason, she felt like she was losing her mind.
So what she just heard was.....
Taking a moment to clean up her mind, she opened her mouth shortly afterwards.
"What you're saying is that Regina has healing powers and the empress dowager tabby is after it?"
"Yes."
"Oh, my God."
Kai's confident answer made her feel like her head was pounding for the first time in a while.
Suddenly, she felt sorry for Regina, who didn't even say a word about this huge fact.
But there was a problem that needed more attention right now. Now was not the time to listen to her feelings.
She raised her head and looked at Kai, who had a more serious expression than usual.
“How does she take away that ability? Is there a way?”
I didn't think that method would be peaceful because the word 'take' itself was already negative. The reason she asked was because she felt like she needed to know in advance what method the empress dowager would use.
“Logan didn't seem to know all that much about the details. He seemed to have already been alienated from the mansion. It felt like he was under surveillance."
"Haa... I'm going crazy."
Whether Kai reacted to the harsh words was no longer noticeable. Isota buried her face in her hands and sighed heavily.
Kai looked at her and touched the tips of his fingers. Now he was unusually anxious.
“What’s certain is that she’s someone who won’t care how much pain Regina suffers in the process.”
She knew what he was saying.
Isota, the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Rose, was pushed down the list of successors for a long time. But she thought she was better than those annoying brothers and sisters, so she planned to make herself a marquise somehow.
As part of that effort, she was studying on her own. Things like the way the social world works, the relationships between high-ranking nobles, and the political situation.
So she had some idea of what happened when Alicia was empress.
The answer to the question that the empress dowager is a consequentialist person can be found by looking at her previous actions.
Isota doesn't know what her purpose is, but empress dowager will justify using any means to achieve it.
Kai said while looking at Isota, who was still lowering his head.
“I think that’s why Duke Greroy is chasing Regina.”
To have Regina's abilities.
However, Isota, who had paused for a moment after hearing those words, buried herself in her palm and muttered in a muffled voice.
“...... I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.”
Kai gave her a questioning look. He thought she would definitely agree, because her answer was unexpected.
Kai wondered why she thought that. As if she knew his feelings, Isota continued to mumble.
“I was angry earlier and said something to that person.”
“What did you do again?”
Kai washed his face dry when he heard that she was angry with a higher-ranking person. A mixed look appeared in his light green eyes.
Her recklessness was attractive, but sometimes it could be a rush to death.
Unlike him who was worried, Isota just waved his words away and quickly raised her head.
“Anyway, that’s okay. But looking at that person’s reaction..…”
When he saw her again, her expression was very distorted. It seemed like she really didn't like what she was spitting out of her mouth right now.
“It seemed like he had feelings.”
Whatever it was, they were engaged for a certain period and lived in the same mansion, but what was more surprising was that they didn't have any feelings, positive or negative.
But Kai knew right away what she was saying.
So, it means that Arsene Greroy likes Regina Blois.
*****
Arsene, who had crossed the border, ordered his men to follow Senia merchants whereabouts. When Regina crossed the border, she was assisted by Duchess Haynes, so it was possible that she accompanied her afterwards.
Under his command, they followed the actions of their superiors at great speed. They were well-trained and were able to narrow the distance in an instant, unlike the merchant guild, who had to move slowly because they had to lead several people.
However, they had to split up a few times, mainly because of Duchess Haynes.
In preparation for Arsene pursuit, Duchess Haynes took some people who looked like Regina out of the group and sent them elsewhere. They did not remove the traces of Regina, but made several so that they could not be distinguished.
Just in case Regina was really in the middle, she couldn't let even one of them go in vain. She made everyone who got out of the group go after them.
And Arsene was received reports of everything in real time through the very expensive magic communication tool given to them.
He came all the way to Misbrunn to catch Regina, but there was a reason why he didn't come forward in person.
"Welcome."
Morten Azadi greeted Arsene. The place where he was currently standing was Krasnata, the administrative agency where the head of the city was located, in the center of Misbrunn.
In any case, he couldn't go straight to find Regina because he was using the excuse of diplomacy.
Since the visit was half-threatening, the head of Azadi would have realized right away that diplomacy was not the goal, but stopping by Krasnata and meeting the chief was necessary for the sake of others' attention.
Arsene calmly smiled and greeted the chief.
“This place is always beautiful.”
He had been there before, so a familiar red building filled his field of vision. His mind was already following Regina's footsteps, but he leisurely walked down the corridor with the chief.
“You came at the perfect time as the weather was cool. Many flowers bloom in Krasnata during this period."
Morten Azadi, with his graying hair neatly trimmed, gave Arsene a tour of Krasnata, as he usually did with distinguished guests.
Arsene was not interested in whether flowers or trees were planted here, but he calmly accepted the chief guidance. Since he was in a foreign country, cooperating with them was a way to get things done quickly.
But his mind was already somewhere else and there was no way he could concentrate.
Arsene followed the chief side and followed where he pointed with his eyes, but at the same time received a report using a magic tool that looked like an earring.
“And here....."
While he listened to his subordinates with one ear, Morten continued to introduce his surroundings.
The chief was not one to welcome this visit anyway, so his attitude was not entirely pleasant. Now they both had a formal meeting.
But then, Arsene's eyes were fixed on one person. She was a dark-haired woman with her back turned. Judging from her attire, she seemed to be a maid working at Krasnata.
When he saw that black hair, he naturally thought of Regina. The hair that was gently held in his hand, like waves.
He doesn't think Regina could be here, but his violet eyes never left the sight behind him.
Because Regina was the only one with black hair to him. Even though he thought it wouldn't be, it was hard to take his eyes off her without even expecting it.
He looked at her like that for a while and only stopped paying attention when he confirmed that it wasn't Regina when the maid turned her head and revealed her face.
Morten Azadi looked at Arsene strangely and continued his explanation. He moved on as if nothing had happened, but the image remained strong in his memory.
After taking a short walk together, they then entered Chief Azadi's office. Then, they sat down with a cup of warm tea and pretended to have a peaceful atmosphere.
“Regarding the temporary closure of the border this time.... "
While they chatted for a while as if they were visiting on truly diplomatic matters, Morten could not find the crazy Arsene he had seen in the letter. However, he knew a certain amount about Arsene, even though he was a hundred and fifty years old. It means that he knew this was a perfect performance.
Towards the end of the story, Azadi said, while stroking his wrinkled hands.
“I prepared a banquet for you, albeit in a hurry.”
Although it is a diplomatic mission organized on short notice and is not very large in scale, and although it is said to have come under duress, a mission is still a mission. He didn't know what would come out if he was neglectful.
Even now, the banquet hall was in full swing preparing for them.
But no matter how dazzling the banquet was, it would not be able to attract Arsene's attention now.
"Thank you."
He answered with a formal smile. In one of his ears, a report was coming from the merchant part of Senia, confirming that one of the women who had split in the middle and moved to another place was not Regina.
Morten tilted his teacup to his mouth and looked at Arsene, who looked like a well-made statue.
When he saw Arsene before, he was colder than this and didn't seem human, which gave him goosebumps. Now he vaguely felt like he was human.
He heard Arsene recently got a fiancee. Is it because of that?
The chief, who drinking the lukewarm tea, roughly put the teacup down on the cup holder and notified the date.
"The banquet is four days from now. Rest well until then."
After the conversation ended, Morten had his servant guide Arsene to where he would stay.
The chief who had stood up and seen him off opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“For your information, if you cause trouble in our country, we will kick you out right away, so it would be good for you to know that."
He said it half-jokingly, but he meant it.
It was disgraceful to Morten that Arsene had been allowed to enter the country because he couldn't resist the threat. It was to show that he was offended, at least.
Moreover, it seemed like the purpose of Arsene's visit was not diplomatic, so it seemed like it would be even better to give this warning.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Arsene responded with a gentle smile. It was a relaxed attitude that it didn't matter much.
After parting ways with the chief, Arsene entered the space assigned to him and arranged the report that was coming in right now.
"Anardal?"
- Yes. It is said that there is a couple, a man and a woman, who separated from Ormos and headed to Anardal
-Yes. There is a pair of men and women separated from Ormos and headed for Anardal.
They chased after Duchess Haynes, now confirming one by one that the traces scattered were fake, and finally made their way to Ormos.
And there, they discovered that a person presumed to be Regina and a man had separated and moved to Anardal.
Arsene lightly stroked his chin and asked a question for confirmation.
“The woman has black hair.”
- She has long black hair that looks like a young lady.
But why are you with a man.
His mood suddenly worsened. Even though he wasn't sure if that person was really Regina.
Regina is moving alone with someone he doesn't know. It felt like she grabbed him by the collar and threw him in the mud. It felt like he was crawling around rubbing his face in the dirty muddy water.
He doesn't even want to think about it, but images of her smiling, hugging, and holding hands with others come to mind. It wasn't something he could control.
"....... "
If he had something in his hand now, it would have been on the list of broken items for an unknown number of times.
He couldn't tell whether what was boiling up was anger or sadness. However, it just felt like his stomach was turning to the point where he felt nauseous.
How can people change like this? Even he was surprised.
Certainly he was fond of her. It was not a shallow emotion simply because of liking.
As he acknowledged that, he felt the turbulent changes within him more clearly.
Admitting that, he felt more certain of the fluctuating change in him.
Arsene's complexion darkened in an instant as he received the report. His dark face made him look like he had walked out of the grave.
He wiped his face and spoke into the communication port. The voice was heavy, filled with all kinds of muddy emotions.
“I will come.”
He'll go check it out for himself, and if that's really Regina....
If it's true then.
Before he could finish his thought, his appearance disappeared.
====================
0 comments:
Post a Comment