BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114: Taste Of Happiness
“They have crossed Duke Perth’s territory. Probably, they didn’t move further from where I reported it three minutes ago.”
Vatican’s procession, by custom, they slept at night, moved during the day, and if they had nothing so urgent, they marched slowly down the passable road. And that fact bothered Fabian now.
“It may sound crazy, but I hope the Vatican will arrive here as soon as possible.”
“Your Majesty, how could you…..”
“……yeah, that’s crazy. But, I mean it.” Fabian kicked the air with his leg for no reason. There was a scorching wind of dust, but his anxiety didn’t go away.
Who knew the day he waited for the Pope like this would come in his life? This time, it was he who wanted to meet that old man.
“Or Serus, are you able to take Lady Akshire out for a moment …….” asked Fabian.
“No, it’s beyond my capacity.”
Fabian’s face was distorted by Serus’s rejection response.
Where did it go wrong? Was it since Evelyn and Adrian moved to the Empress Palace and the first day of the three gathered together?
That night, Fabian, who visited the Empress Palace with a fluttering heart, met an unexpected enemy.
“Maybe it’s faster to change the law.” sighed Serus.
“I’m sure it will.”
Rebecca, who gave Fabian an example with an elegant gesture, introduced herself as the Empress’ chief maid. As Evelyn’s aide, she stood in her position, and Fabian couldn’t forget the moment when he was stopped by her.
—flashback—
[‘Your Majesty, it’s already late.’]
Fabian was embarrassed because he didn’t think there would be someone who dared to block his way.
[‘I understand how you feel, but don’t forget the etiquette. You two are now divorced.’]
[‘What’s the matter? We’re going to get married again, anyway.”
[‘There are lots of people out there who turn their eyes on, to speak ill about the Princess.’]
Rebecca wasn’t mistaken on that. But because she was too right, it became a problem.|
[‘It’s very regrettable, but you two aren’t officially married at the moment. This is a temporary palace, not the Empress’s. According to the strict laws of the Imperial Family and Inner Palace, it was inappropriate for Your Majesty to come here after the sunset.’]
And, of course, Fabian refuted.
[‘Nothing, not even etiquette, rules over me.’]
[‘That’s right. Your Majesty is ruling for everything. Therefore, all decisions in this Palace are up to the Princess.’]
It was something he didn’t think about before. No one dared to criticize him as the Emperor, and he knew Evelyn would do the same.
But people in the Imperial Palace were more mean than Fabian expected. Moreover, Evelyn, who now had an ambiguous status, would be given a harsher standard.
The moment he recalled the fact, Fabian had no choice but to turn back from Empress Palace bitterly.
—end flashback—
“Your Majesty, I’m worried. You seem to have lost your composure lately.”
“Composure?” Fabian spat out laughter. “I’m not God. There are so many moments when I feel like I’m going crazy, so my level of composure is still so-so now.”
The innocent Serus nodded silently, but Fabian was still not finished and kept nagging at him. “Do you know how I feel when she’s in front of my eyes, and I can’t reach out to her? I see a warm light a few steps ahead, but never, I can reach it.”
On that day, when Fabian was forced to leave the Empress’s Palace, he turned around and saw a bright light through the window. Evelyn and Adrian seemed to have a good time.
At that time, he tried his best to resist the urge to run towards them.
“I didn’t know etiquette is such a drag.”
For Fabian or Serus, etiquette was a convenient tool. They didn’t need to have physical contact with other people, and it was an excellent tool for bonding up the nobles. As they only moved within a predetermined framework, so they didn’t have to do something wasteful.
“Tomorrow, the Empress….No, I mean, Evelyn has a tea party and invites all the noble wives and Empress Dowager to her ……”
His end of the speech was fluttered in the wind. Maybe it’s embarrassing to say this, but Fabian really worried about her. He didn’t feel like this before, but now he was.
“If you worried, why didn’t you stop her when you met her during the day?” asked Serus.
“I tried to stop her, but she didn’t even listen to me.” Fabian knew very well. He couldn’t interfere in women’s war even he was an Emperor. Evelyn must use her own strength and strong will to regain her position.
Only then Evelyn could stand entirely above them. In his mind, Fabian understood everything, but his stomach burned.
“What if nasty and evil things come out of their mouths and make fun of her? …… No, first of all, why did the Empress and Lady Metis come too? Just inviting them was already weird, and even more strange when they accepted the invitation.”
“Because the Palace has its order,” said Serus.
Evelyn also said something similar, with a faint smile.
“Yes, I’m going crazy without knowing that. It is easier and simpler to slaughter a demon.”
“That’s right….. a hundred times,” Serus answered sincerely. “But, she’ll be fine, I guess.”
It was unusual for Serus to say what he didn’t ask first. But Fabian glanced at him, telling him to keep speaking.
“The former Empress always tried to avoid conflict. Well… …that’s also a law in her Palace. But the fact that she sent the invitation means she’s not going to avoid it anymore.”
“Serus, even my dog knows that.”
Serus’s words didn’t sound sweet to Fabian, who was already annoyed. He didn’t want to get into trouble and quickly added his sentence, “There’s something that can definitely make you relieved, Your Majesty!”
“Something?” Even if Fabian didn’t like the answer, but he would hear it.
“Akshire’s…… Lady Rebecca.” Serus began to explain desperately when Fabian’s sharp gaze fell on him. “Think about it. Someone who can beat those women in society …… is there any other than her?”
That was a valid question, and the answer was already evident.
“What Your Majesty saw is just the tip of the iceberg. I am the one who saw the real her.”
Serus couldn’t forget the shocking midnight sermon. It was harder and bitter than the teachings he had heard from anyone in his whole life. But, Serus couldn’t easily forget Rebecca’s sincere green eyes, which stared at him all the time.
“She’s like a guard dog that never existed before the Empress returned.”
Fabian was unconsciously nodding his head at the compelling story. Only Rebecca dared to stop the Emperor. With her fighting-spirit, Evelyn would be fine with Empress Dowager around. Maybe she didn’t even need to bicker with Stella and the other noble wives.
“But Empress Dowager isn’t an easy opponent, either.”
“Instead, she’s not interested in fighting,” added Serus.
Fabian asked back with puzzled eyes. Serus hesitated and whispered something in his ear. The message sent by Monica had been conveyed to Serus. After listening to all that, there was something implied in Fabian’s expression.
“I can’t fully believe her, but…… if it’s true, the story will change.”
Monica euphemistically conveyed her unwillingness to confront Fabian. She also added that there’s no reason to oppose Evelyn becoming the Empress again. That she was pushed from the back by his brother, Duke Metis, to negotiate, but she had no intention to step up in the Empress’ war.
“Her Majesty Empress Dowager has retired from all internal matters of the Imperial Family long ago. So I think that’s enough for her.”
“But we don’t know what she’s thinking.” Fabian cut right off. “My mother always has a relaxed look on her face, but no one knows what’s in inside…… even I, her son, don’t know either.”
He was the only child who inherited the blood of his parents. However, that fact made them even more apart. The person who was supposed to be closest to him became the strangest.
“We’ll find out when we see what happens tomorrow. Nothing big will happen. As long as she’s with Lady Rebecca.”
“I depend on her.” Fabian dismissed it in a word. Many scenes came to his mind while he was thinking for a while.
Was Rebecca the only shameless, rude woman? Actually, Rebecca’s words and deeds resembled a person’s.
Evelyn.
When they meet again in the Felice Kingdom. She was the woman who, drunk or sober, always pushed Fabian away and rejected him. Evelyn couldn’t be weak, as she was a woman who dared to go against the Emperor.
“I had a foolish, though,” said Fabian sincerely. “Evelyn is strong enough.”
“I agree, Your Majesty.”
The two men were not worried about anything now. If the person concerned heard it, those women would laugh at them.
“Better now, I focus on the rest of my works.”
“……yes.”
What he was worried about ended with relief, but it was a bitter voice for some reason.
***
The time spent in the Empress palace passed quickly. Another day had passed when she and Rebecca had to take care of many things in the Palace, which its master had left for a while.
“I wish I could have done this before.” Evelyn smiled to herself while looking at the list of tasks. “Why did I think I was alone then?”
The situation now wasn’t too different. But Evelyn didn’t know why she died so weak back then.
After her return, she was shocked at the ending of her previous life and, without thinking, immediately asked for a divorce.
“It must be because you were really alone,” Rebecca spoke calmly. “You made me feel that way.”
“Really?” asked Evelyn in wonder.
“I don’t know. Only the party concerned knows what happened between the spouses in question. It’s just… I feel like that. I was married and came to the Empire … But my ex-husband lived his daily life as usual, and it’s only me who felt depressed. I felt like a fool back then.”
Perth’s Family was a miniature of the Imperial Family. It was smaller, but it wasn’t that different from what happened in this Imperial Family. And Evelyn was grateful to have friends to share with.
“I still don’t know what got into me at that time when I asked for a divorce … I don’t remember.” Evelyn honestly said.
Shocked by her miserable death, all she did was notify Fabian about the divorce and returned to her Kingdom. For Fabian, who lived in the present lifetime, it was a sudden divorce, even less than two years after their marriage.
“The memories of my sick days sometimes disappear. It’s a blessing from God.”
“How about me in Rebecca’s memory?”
“Well… … At that time, I was also learning to be a Duchess, so I couldn’t come to the Imperial Palace often, but I still went a few times. Of course, I haven’t seen you since I got divorced.” Rebecca was lost in her past memories. “So, the last time I entered the Palace, I met you at the Empress’s Palace.”
“Did you say… .me?”
Having lived one life and returned from death, Evelyn could hardly remember what happened back then.
“Yeah. It was about a year after you married. I was already fed up with the Empire at that time… … I was worried about the Princess.”
The divorce had never been easy, even for Rebecca. At that time, their married life was very problematic, so they didn’t have an opportunity to know each other and share.
“What about the old me? was it the same?”
“No.” Rebecca gave an unexpected answer. “You said you were happy. You looked like that in my eyes. That’s why I was able to go back without worrying about you….and it turned out bad in the end.” Rebecca smiled vaguely.
“Me? I thought I couldn’t adapt to the Imperial Family.”
Only
“Of course, you missed the Felice Kingdom, but you still said there was happiness in your marriage.”
It was a surprising story. Evelyn thought she had never been happy in the Imperial Family for a single day. But herself in Rebecca’s memory was different.
“It’s all in the past, I guess.” Rebecca quickly dismissed the awkward topic. Then, the two went back to the conversation about tomorrow’s tea party.
However, in Evelyn’s mind, a question she hadn’t been aware of all this time haunted her mind.
She was happy until she declared her divorce after her return.
Happiness …….
She had tasted happiness before.