What Became of Them (2)

Feeling like she would burst into tears if she stood there any longer, Lerian hurriedly walked away. She had only recently realized how vast the palace was. No matter how much she ran, she couldn’t find a place to hide. So Lerian moved her feet even faster.

She could have just gone back to her room in peace, but for some reason, she didn’t want to go there. If she went back to her room, what if… what if Leonard came to see her, even by chance? When her thoughts went that far, her steps gradually slowed down.

‘Even in this situation……’

A sudden, bitter laugh escaped her lips. She was hurt by him, and yet she felt disgusted with herself for thinking of him. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared blankly into the air. Lerian hurriedly wiped her tears away and looked around.

She felt relieved to see that no one was around. At the same time, the tears she had been desperately holding back uncontrollably flowed down. Lerian used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, but they didn’t stop until her hands were soaked.

‘This is so pathetic.’

She hated a life without money. Money would always determine a person’s fate. That’s why she wished to have a lot of money. But what about now? She had amassed the wealth she could hardly ever imagined, but her situation hadn’t changed much.

Thinking about it, there wasn’t much reason to cry. Viola, after all, was also Leonard’s woman, and it was only natural for the Emperor to be intimate with his wife. It was such a matter of fact that she didn’t even have to cry so miserably. Yet, she couldn’t understand why she was so sad.

At that moment, Lerian’s gaze turned towards the sound of someone’s footsteps echoing in the silent corridor. Her heart pounded. Who could it be? Who is it?

‘Could it be Leonard?’

Even in this situation, was he still her hope? No, perhaps he was both Lerian’s hope and despair. With a mixture of anxiousness and excitement, Lerian’s eyes focused on that direction, only to catch sight of a stranger. …It wasn’t Leonard.

‘Yes, it couldn’t be.’

“Your Highness!”

The voice calling her belonged to one of the knights Leonard had assigned to her some time ago. Lerian looked at the man who ran up to her and was panting heavily. Then, belatedly, she remembered that the knight accompanied her when she went to find Viola.

“Where, are you, in such a hurry…?”

Had he been searching for her all along? He was looking at her with a face drenched in sweat. Even so, the fact that he was looking at her with a worried face made the sadness that had just been suppressed well up again. Even the knight she hadn’t had much conversation with had this kind of expression, but why didn’t Leonard, who said he loved her.

“……Is something wrong?”

As Lerian remained silent, just staring at him, he looked at her nervously.

“I don’t really know what’s going on… Uh, um. I hope you don’t cry.”

A man whose name she couldn’t even remember was really nothing to her. But why, why was such an insignificant man showing so much care about her? Was it just because she was crying, so he was trying to comfort her as part of his duty?

Yes, maybe that’s the case.

“I’m sorry.”

It was an abrupt apology. It felt ridiculous to hear him randomly throwing an apology to console her. It would have been better if he had laughed, at least that would have made the awkwardness go away a little. But she wondered why the tears wouldn’t stop. Was it because this was the first time she had ever received this kind of comfort? Maybe that was right. She had never been comforted by anyone other than Leonard in her life.

The clumsy comfort was so tender that the tears she had been suppressing finally burst out. Seeing Lerian start to cry uncontrollably, the man began to apologize with a face of not knowing what to do.

“I’m, I’m sorry. Don’t cry….”

At the sound, Lerian’s tears became even more intense.

“Ugh, you… you’re annoying! Huwaah. It’s all because of you. It’s your fault!”

Tears for Lerian had been a luxury until now. Moreover, there had never been a stable enough situation that made her cry her heart out. Not once in her life.

She had always known how to cry silently, but that day, she cried out loud for the first time. The man, looking surprised as she cried like a child, reached out to console her, but his hand ended up awkwardly wandering in the air without reaching her.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I was wrong.”

It was the first time she had ever received such comfort. She was so ashamed of herself for showing such a pathetic side to a man whose name she didn’t even know. It was embarrassing, but the man’s voice comforting her was so warm that she couldn’t help but ask.

“What is your, heuk, name?”

The man blushed and stammered before answering, “Alex Rudvan. Your Highness…”

Alex. Lerian mumbled the name in a very small voice. It sounded like a name she might have heard somewhere before. Lerian looked at Alex again. He was so embarrassed by the situation that he scratched his head and couldn’t meet her gaze.

Even if it was out of chivalry, she couldn’t understand why he would go to such lengths for her. Then, a certain possibility came to mind. Lerian asked impulsively.

“You, do you like me?”

At that question, Alex’s body trembled. Harboring feelings for the Emperor’s woman was a grave sin. Perhaps if Alex were in his right mind, he would certainly deny her words. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before answering in a dejected voice.

“Yes, ……I’m sorry.”

That answer left Lerian feeling a bit dazed. She did ask the question, but how could he answer so honestly? Could it be Viola’s scheme?

Her head was in a whirl. Lerian scrutinized Alex carefully. His gold, close to brown, hair was disheveled, perhaps due to hurriedly rushing here. The confused brown eyes looked somewhat innocent. That’s why she couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, Alex’s gaze suddenly changed a bit. His eyes looked at Lerian with a strange determination.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t leave you alone like this.”

His ears turned bright red. It sounded like a cheesy line anyone would say. Lerian couldn’t understand what this man was trying to say. Ironically, however, she kept laughing.

“Are you seducing me right now?”

In response, Alex became flustered again and quickly waved his hands.

“S-Seduce…! That’s absurd. How could I ever dare?”

Dare.

Upon hearing that word, Lerian’s mouth somehow felt bitter. Her position had come from Leonard, but now that her relationship with him had soured, could she still be called the Queen, whom others looked up to? Lerian couldn’t be sure.

Then what would become of her life? Now that she was not loved by Leonard and had been framed by Viora, could she remain the Queen forever? Lerian belatedly felt that everything was futile. Alex, seeing her troubled expression, asked cautiously.

“If… If you have any concerns, if it’s alright with you, can I dare to intrude and listen?”

Trembling brown eyes. His face filled with tension and stiffness. Lerian looked at Alex and thought. Can I really trust this man? Maybe this is something Viola had prepared to trap her?

Her mind spun, filled with constant doubt. Then, at one point, she felt a sudden sense of clarity.

‘I didn’t come this far to live this kind of life.’

She was exhausted. Leonard, who had been her only hope, had now become a source of misery. She didn’t think she could hold on any longer. She didn’t even have the energy to do so. Lerian impulsively reached out to him.

“Would you like to have a drink with me?”

The memories that followed were sporadically fragmented.

Gathering faint memories, she took Alex to an empty room where people rarely visited, and they drank there. She also remembered crying as she told him a lot of things. At that time, she was so heartbroken and sad, but when she woke up, she felt somehow relieved.

And when she opened her eyes, Lerian was lying on the bed.

She didn’t even have the courage to look at the man beside her, so she ran away. Her heart was beating madly, but the spilled water could not be picked up. For a while, she couldn’t even sleep for fear that Leonard would find out about this.

During the time when Leonard didn’t come looking for her, it felt like a relief. As time passed, Lerian passed off the events of that day as a dream or a small escapade.

The problem was that her body was not like that.

“Congratulations! You’re definitely pregnant!”

The physician who regularly examined her exclaimed with a joyful face. At the same time, her heart sank. The words she had longed to hear for the past few years now sounded like a judge pronouncing a death sentence.

And news of Lerian’s pregnancy quickly spread throughout the palace. Lerian had been worried that she might be infertile. That’s why she didn’t resist when Leonard said he was going to bring in a new Empress. And now, she was pregnant?

At that moment, one absurd assumption came to her mind. It was such an outrageous thought that she couldn’t even muster a hollow laugh.

‘It can’t be….’