Chapter 7 – Part 1 (Relentless pursuit 1 )

In the Duke of Miles’ parlor, the Duchess of Miles and Arlen are working on a lightly basted dress. The dress had already been altered once, and this time they decided to bring it back after already working on the details.

“I would like to emphasize the waist a little more,” she said, “because my Arlen has a thin waist.”

The Duchess of Miles turned to Arlen and smiled kindly.

“Yes, I understand. Is the lace placement okay?”

“I don’t think it’s too bad…… Angela, how many layers of lace did the Empress have when she got married?”

Duke Miles asked Angela, his exclusive designer.

“She had two layers on her dress.”

“Then let’s have three layers for Arlen.”

“Understood.”

Throughout the process, the shape of the dress was determined mainly based on how much the Empress had done for her wedding.

“Arlen, don’t you have anything you want?”

The Duchess of Miles asked Arlen only after the dress had been constructed, similar to the Empress’s wedding but a little more extravagant, so the things that had been decided were pretty much the basics that could never be changed.

“I just want the jewels to be in Luben blue.”

Arlen didn’t think that adding just one more layer of lace and making it a bit more splendid could surpass the Empress. But Luben Blue was different. Having rare jewels that not even the Empress possessed would surely prove her worth.

“Good choice. Perhaps you should match your tiara with a luben blue as well, but we should ask His Majesty separately.”

Arlen’s choice pleased the Duchess of Miles.

“Then shall we proceed with making the tiara as planned?”

Angela asked. She’d just finished estimating the number of gems that would go into the tiara.

“I think we should go ahead and make the tiara as is, just in case, and check the dress and jewelry halfway through.”

“Yes, understood.”

With their work done, Angela’s assistants gathered up the dress and left the parlor.

“Well done, Arlen. There’s no need to be embarrassed about your decision to become the Emperor’s concubine. If anything, you two will live happily ever after and be remembered as the golden couple that all future generations will recognize.”

As the designer and his assistants left, the Duchess of Miles took Arlen’s hand and said.

“That’s …….”

Her mother, who had returned to the capital, had been trying to keep her spirits up these days. But what she doesn’t know is that Arlen has never been discouraged. To put it bluntly, she didn’t know why she should be discouraged.

Lately, she was just been thinking a lot. She hadn’t planned on living in the stifling palace, but if circumstances forced her to live in the palace, she would have to find a way to become empress in the future.

So, the superficial fighting didn’t really matter.

All she had to do was get rid of the things that were blocking her way or bothering her.

* * *

“So…… another assassin has appeared?”

This afternoon was when Eli thought the headache would finally be over.

And now, at dawn, Eli was facing a new assassin, captured by Gardner and his knights.

“It’s …….”

Gardner and the other knights were also devastated.

“The markings are different?”

“Yes. It’s a different group than the last one.”

It was common for assassins who operated in the shadows to mark their bodies to identify themselves, and those with the same markings were usually part of the same group.

So the current situation meant that another group, other than the one wiped out yesterday, had come to attack Eli and Ruby.

“Interrogate them. Find out how they got in contact with their client. The rest, maintain security.”

At Eli’s command, two knights, excluding Gardner, dragged the assassin away. They’d be heading to a pre-arranged location for interrogation.

“You’re not doing this yourself?”

Gardner asked, puzzled.

“I can’t leave Ruby’s side.”

After all the commotion at dawn, any more delay and Ruby might wake up and see the interrogation.

“I see.”

Besides, there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be a second assassin, a third, and a fourth.

“We’ll have to move right away.”

They are leaving for the capital in a few days.

“We’re leaving earlier than planned.”

After a brief consideration, Eli quickly made up his mind.

“So, when will we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll get ready.”

 Eli headed back to the mansion.

***

Eli and Ruby left Zenfield first thing in the morning.

Everything was ready when Ruby woke up, so all she had to do was climb into the carriage as soon as she woke up. All she had were the things she’d packed from Ruby’s messed-up mansion and a few things to take from Eli’s mansion.

“If you’re tired, you can sit here.”

Eli pointed to his thigh for Ruby.

“Really, I can sit?”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed, as if she thought he was joking.

“Sit.”

Eli gently lifted her up and sat her down.

“Really.”

Ruby patted Eli’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, were going without rest.”

Eli said, hugging Ruby around the waist.

They were leaving in the morning, and they were going to rest as little as possible and run as much as possible on the way to the capital.

“Traveling is not easy, so the sooner we get there, the better.”

Ruby cupped Eli’s cheeks in her hands.

“So you don’t have to feel so sorry for yourself.”

Eli held her gaze and pressed his lips to hers. Ruby wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes.

 * * *

“Luben Blue…….”

Shannua was pondering over a letter from the Duchess of Miles.

She was planning to wear the Luben Blue gemstone to her wedding, and it would be a shame if her tiara was anything else, so she asked if it was possible for her tiara to be set with the Luben Blue gemstone.

Until recently, it would have been a request Shannua readily accepted.

But this time, he was torn.

For one thing, it was the Duchess of Miles, not Arlen, who had sent the letter, as if to prove her unresolved anger. Of course, even so, it was obvious that Arlen was behind the Duchess of Miles.

This meant that she was giving him a chance in the same way she had before.

And from here, Shannua’s dilemma began.

If he accepted this, the power in their relationship would shift back to Alern. That had been fine when they were lovers, but now that she was his official concubine to live in the palace, it was no longer something he could afford to lose.

“What should I do?”

Thus, Shannua, who received the letter, was still unable to make a decision.

“First, make her a tiara in the shape of the color of the Luben Blue.”

Shannua ordered his chamberlain.

He planned to postpone his response to the letter for later.

* * *

“Have you seen it?”

Eli asked from the room where Gardner was staying.

“Yes. I received a message a while ago, confirming the situation we received.”

“And the letters exchanged?”

“They found them.”

“Good work.”

He felt a little relieved.

They’d ransacked the homes of the assassins and the one who’d been captured and interrogated the day before we left.

They’d moved so quickly that they hadn’t had time to take the materials.

“Give them to Emily, just in case.”

“You don’t want to keep them yourself?”

Gardner asked, surprised by the unexpected order.

“She’s probably realized by now that the mansion is empty, and it’s better to send them somewhere safe than to risk an attack at any moment.”

“Then I’ll send Tyrus back.”

Eli nodded for him to do so.

The Marquis of Grit looked thoughtful as he stared out the open window.

“Now, we’ll be in the capital tomorrow. Don’t worry too much” Eli smiled as he was comforted by Gardner.

“That’s right, I’ll take care of the capital as well.”

His laughter broke off and was carried away by the wind.

* * *

“Did you talk well?”

“Weren’t you asleep?”

When Eli came back into the room, Ruby was awake.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Climbing into bed, he hugged Ruby.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Ruby said, leaning against Eli’s shoulder.

He tried to hide it, but it was obvious that he wasn’t his usual self.

Even during moments of rest, he seemed wary of his surroundings and seemed to be in constant conversation with Gardner.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uneasy, too.”

Eli apologized, pressing a light kiss to Ruby’s forehead. Ruby shook her head.

“You seem unable to sleep properly too.”

Even when Ruby woke up from sleep, Eli often found himself looking at her. And when their eyes met in the early morning, he would hug her tighter.

At first, it was nice, but after encountering such situations several times, he realized that he couldn’t sleep due to his worries.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, there’s no problem at all.”

There isn’t. There shouldn’t be.

That statement was almost like a spell that Eli cast upon himself.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories