Those Who Received Her Love (6)

Once they had left, the sounds seemed to vanish as well, leaving silence in its wake. The only thing that dominated the silence was the pounding of his heart, as if it were about to burst. Leonard listened to that sound in silence, his eyes fixed on the firmly closed door. The overwhelming emotions swirled inside him, unable to find an outlet, and eventually, they erupted into a series of questions.

Why?

How?

Why on earth?

What caused this to happen?

Who was behind it? For what reason? As if he didn’t know all the answers he already had, he continued to question everything. Then, he roughly placed his hand on the door handle.

It wasn’t until he felt the cold touch in his hand that he came to his senses belatedly. The surroundings were eerily silent, as if there were no living beings present. It was so quiet, as if there were no living beings at all.

When he realized that, fear gripped him.

He couldn’t bring himself to open the door.

He needed to open the door, to make sure she was safe, to confirm with his own eyes that the child in her belly was unharmed…

He had run here like a madman just to find out, but when it came to opening the door and facing her, he didn’t have the courage. His hands trembled as if he had an anxiety attack. He didn’t even have the confidence to take a single step forward. If he could, he wanted to run away right now.

Having thought that far, Leonard belatedly regained his composure and raised his head. He whispered to himself, as if trying to reassure himself:

Calm down. It will be okay.

As he tried to summon the courage to push open the door, trying to suppress the anxiety and fear that had risen to his throat, a faint cry was heard from inside the room.

“Huk, Mama… There were so many ways to deal with the Empress, so why did you have to deceive Her Majesty by making up a non-existent child…! Why did you drink the poisoned tea when you knew it was poisoned?!”

The shocking revelation that came from the sobbing maid’s voice hit Leonard as if it he had been struck in the head. The strength in the hand he had placed on the doorknob slipped away. He blinked in a daze.

‘What is this…’

His thoughts weren’t functioning properly. But he could vaguely deduce the situation.

Lerian had deliberately drank the poisoned tea. She had even created a non-existent child.

Why?

The answer came quickly. It was such a simple answer that he almost wished he were wrong.

To trap Kilianerisa.

「Those who harm the royal line shall not escape execution. 」

This law had been in place ever since the reign of the Resfontian Empire. If the baby in the womb had died due to the tea Kilianerisa had served, then Kilianerisa, who had caused the death of the royal heir, would face execution.

But if what the maid had just said was true, then there was never a child to begin with. If that were proven to be true, it would be Lerian who would be punished, not Kilianerisa.

Leonard swallowed hard. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. There were only two choices laid out before him.

To cover up his lover’s wrongdoing and witness Kilianerisa’s death, or to uphold justice as a just Emperor and punish Lerian.

Since there never was a child to begin with, Kilianerisa would not face execution. But the crime of creating a non-existent royal heir to deceive the empire and trying to frame the Empress was a grave one. She couldn’t escape being dethroned.

If he were to judge right from wrong, the blame lay with Lerian. He clenched his fists. He couldn’t easily make a decision about any of this. If only he could pass the responsibility to someone else. He didn’t want to be the one to punish the person he loved, and he didn’t want to be the coward who sacrificed an innocent person to protect his lover.

But his indecision was short-lived.

Soon, someone’s face came to mind. A woman who had always sacrificed everything for him.

He knew what she had done. It was the crime of great treason against the empire.

However, at this moment, he wanted to see her so badly. He hoped that seeing her unharmed face might temporarily soothe his troubled heart. No matter what she had done, she was his lover, and someone he wanted to protect. That had never changed.

He was the Emperor, but at the same time, he was someone’s husband.

Leonard, who had made up his mind, placed his hand on the doorknob once again. He exerted force to open it, or rather, he tried to.

But the firmly closed door felt heavy to open with one hand. At the same time, memories from a few years ago resurfaced in his mind, overlapping with the current situation. The only difference was that back then, he didn’t put much effort into opening the door, yet it had smoothly opened as if it had already been unlocked.

His heart sank.

The last piece of the puzzle, which had been wandering aimlessly without fitting in, had finally found its place.

However, the completed puzzle was far from beautiful. The moments when it hadn’t fit seemed almost more beautiful now.

His head felt numb. No, perhaps he just didn’t want to continue thinking. He didn’t want to know the truth anymore. The more he uncovered the truth, the further it drifted from the image he had hoped for.

Yet, the door, which his strength couldn’t overcome, continued to open slowly. It was already too late to turn back. Beyond the opening door, a pale-faced woman lay with her eyes closed, looking as if she were dead.

Leonard let out a slight whimper with his slightly parted lips.

‘Lerian….’

His mind was blank, as if his thoughts were being consumed by whiteness. He stared blankly at Lerian, and then slowly took a step forward. In truth, he might have already known. Why she had done such a thing. Why there had been no other option.

And once again, he took another step forward. At that moment, a feeling of guilt surged in his mind. He had been the one to stand by and let the situation escalate like this. It was who had pushed her to the edge of the cliff, and he was the one who had made her do this.

“Your… Majesty?”

The shocked cry from the maid reached his ears, but Leonard continued his steps as if he hadn’t heard a thing, until he finally reached Lerian.

Lerian’s skin, now devoid of makeup, was deathly pale, almost like a corpse. The maid behind him covered her mouth in silent shock, realizing the consequences of what had been said earlier.

But Leonard couldn’t afford to be concerned about that right now. His gaze had been fixed on Lerian from the moment he entered the room.

A sense of sadness washed over him. He looked at her with a sorrowful expression and gently placed his hand on her cheek. He couldn’t help but feel a slight shock at the coldness of her skin. But that was only for a brief moment, as the faint sound of her breathing reached his ears, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As Leonard gazed at Lerian with a sad expression, the maid, who had been startled, hesitated before speaking in a bewildered voice.

“Uh, by any chance, the words earlier…”

“Lerian, is she alright?”

His voice, tinged with desperation, cut off the maid’s words. It was uttered impulsively. At that, the maid stared at Leonard in silence. Even he, who had been raised as an Emperor, had a complex expression on his face, containing various emotions, making it difficult to read.

The longer the silence stretched, the more anxious Leonard became, wondering if perhaps the maid had caught on to something. But soon, relief washed over his face when the maid finally answered in a trembling voice,

“Ah, yes… Fortunately, there was no harm to Her Highness’ life.”

He was truly relieved.

In time, his rationality returned, and he continued to mask his emotions while maintaining a composed expression.

“Then, what about the child…?”