A Second Divorce is Difficult - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

Side Story 3 – The Emperor and the Empress (6)

“You’ve been looking for me.”

It was late in the night when Eli arrived at the manor after Ruby’s breathing had stabilized in her sleep.

Shannua gestured to the chair across from him.

“I heard the physician come by.”

“The Empress was ill for a while.”

“I heard that Her Majesty was unable to eat, but is she well now?”

Eli asked and looked at Shannua’s forearms. Every time his sleeves were rolled up as he drank tea, he could see the scratches on his arms.

“She had some soup and took medicine. She seems fine now since she slept well.”

“That’s a relief.”

Eli replied, quickly noticing the scars but pretending not to, and turning his gaze elsewhere.

“Is there any good hunting ground around here?”

“There isn’t one nearby. We have to go a bit farther.”

Shannua made a small frown at the unsatisfactory answer.

His discomfort was evident in the way he tapped his fingernails against the armrest.

“Did something happen at dinner?”

“Does it seem so?”

“You rarely seek out hunting grounds unless something’s wrong. Usually, it’s when you’re angry, or you want to spar.”

“Spar, huh? How about we spar for old time’s sake?”

“No, thank you.

Eli said no with a straight face.

“I’m not confident enough to win.”

“…You’re consistently unlucky.”

Eli nodded nonchalantly, indicating that he was well aware.

“Ruby would be sad if I got hurt, so I can’t.”

Shannua raised his hands in surrender.

“Then let’s go have a picnic far away. Just us and your family.”

“So, excluding Lord Rayon?”

Eli snapped as if he didn’t know what the hell that meant.

“Lord Rayon or anyone else—all of them. If anyone comes to visit in the future, refuse.”

“Does the Empress know?”

“If he stops coming, she’ll naturally find out.”

“Then let me know after both of you have discussed it, and I’ll handle it.”

Shannua looked at Eli with a look of disapproval, but he didn’t seem to care and continued.

“We’ll have to send for Lady Byton as well and get ready, so we’d better leave the day after tomorrow.”

Shannua, suddenly remembering Ganessa’s presence, muttered, “So there’s Lady Byton, too.”

“Is it the Empress or the young lord who is to blame for things not going as you had planned?”

“……Both.”

Shannua answered, pausing at Eli’s question.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Shannua stared at Eli, who hadn’t said anything since he’d heard her answer.

His face had the look he makes when he has a lot to say, but he doesn’t think the words will come out very well.

Eli asked as if he’d been waiting.

“What on earth were you thinking?”

“Honestly, wouldn’t you do that? What friend of your opposite s*x comes to visit you like that every day?”

“…Nevertheless, you acted unilaterally.”

Considering Ruby’s feelings, Eili glossed over the matter.

“I’ll admit that.”

“I’m glad you realize that now.”

Judging by the sigh in Eli’s voice, it was not a compliment.

“How is Her Majesty feeling unwell?”

“……Her heart is broken.”

“…….”

“I didn’t know that it was an illness that was invisible and couldn’t be seen unless she spoke about it. But she’s been hiding it for almost three years.”

Shannua’s mouth curved in an unintelligible sneer.

“I didn’t know for three years.”

Eli realized that Shannua’s statement was directed at himself.

Three years ago, Arlen and the Emperor’s betrothal was revoked.

“I was thoughtless. There were strange things about the Empress’s condition, but I overlooked them because she seemed fine at a glance.”

“…….”

“…But even when the Empress was sick, she never neglected her duties or asked for help. If I hadn’t gone to see her separately, I wouldn’t have known until now.”

Accepting silently the wounds she must bear and silently acknowledging that it was something she had to endure.

Katrina’s decision to bring in a new concubine is also based on her belief that she is not good enough to fulfill her responsibilities as an empress.

The result of that thinking—the way she handles herself and everything is so different from Arlen. For the first time since he’s been with Katrina, Shannua is embarrassed.

So it often caught his eye and bothered him in other ways.

“Se told me to bring in a royal concubine.”

“The Empress?”

“Yes. Isn’t it ironic? Who else would be more suitable by my side than the Empress?”

“Her Majesty has her eye on Lady Ganessa Byton.”

Eli replied after a moment of thought.

Shannua nodded and answered for him.

“So you’re telling me that the Empress wants to leave, and the Emperor wants to capture her.”

Eli spat out a string of gibberish.

“……That’s right. Do you think there’s any way to catch her?”

“I don’t know. His Majesty will have to think about it.”

Knowing full well that there’s nothing you can do about marital problems, Eli simply replied.

Shannua murmured in agreement, lost in thought. Through Eli’s words, he realized more clearly.

He didn’t want to send Katrina anywhere. No one suited him better than her by his side.

So he wanted her to stay with him.

* * *

“I hope you can stay a little longer.”

Eli said wistfully as he saw off Viscount and Viscountess Rainier, who were leaving today.

The Viscount smiled and shook his head.

“We’ve seen that you’re doing well, but it’s time for us to return now.”

Beside him, the Viscountess and Ruby hugged each other and said a wistful goodbye.

“Come again.”

“Of course. We’ll visit again before the baby arrives.”

“Okay.”

Viscount and Viscountess Rainier bowed politely to Shannua, who came out shortly afterward to see them off.

“It was an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

“Indeed. Be safe on your way. The Empress has asked me to tell the three of you that she wishes you well.”

“Yes, it was an honor to be invited.”

As they left, Ganessa also bowed to Shannua and the Countess of Rox.

“Take care.”

With a final nod from Ruby, the Viscount and Viscountess Rainier and Lady Byton climbed into their respective carriages, and they left.

* * *

Katrina slowly woke up and opened her eyes.

She felt like she had slept soundly, perhaps due to the medication.

She was lulled back to sleep by Shannua, who assured her in the middle of the night that she had nothing to worry about and that the guests were fine.

Katrina blinked for a while before slowly getting up.

Then, a hand grabbed her shoulder and helped her up. The sudden touch startled Katrina, who thought no one was there, and she quickly turned her head to see Shannua.

He was lying on her side, invisible to Katrina.

An open book lay on Shannua’s thigh as he leaned his upper body against the head of the bed.

It seemed he had been reading the book by her side the whole time.

“…I thought you had left.”

“I wanted to be quiet for a while.”

“Is that so?”

Katrina’s eyes widened as she said that.

“Have you met Lady Byton?”

“Yeah. She left well today.”

Katrina had been the one who had asked Ganessa to stay, but she hadn’t been able to join her for yesterday’s meal, and she hadn’t been able to see her off today when she left.

She felt guilty that she had used Ganessa to fight her own battles with Shannua.

“I don’t want to get involved in your romance, so I don’t want you to use me to get between you two.”

Suddenly, she remembered what she had said to Arlen during her brief stay at the palace.

“I’ll definitely have to apologize to her.”

From the way she muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowed, and Shannua assumed she was apologizing for not being able to see off her guest.

“Don’t worry, I told her you were sick, and I saw her off for you.”

“……Thank you.”

“By the way, Lord Rayon won’t be coming for a while.”

Shannua added quickly.

“Really?”

Katrina responded, opening her eyes only to Hyde’s news.

“I suppose it would be too much for him to come every day for a few days.”

Shannua nodded.

Katrina also agreed to some extent, so she accepted it as it was.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine now that I’ve rested and woken up.”

“That’s a relief.”

Shannua’s face broke into a faint smile as Katrina’s complexion improved.

He pulled the string and called for the maid.

“I’m sure you’re hungry, so eat something light. We’re dining with the Earl and Countess of Rox this evening, but if you need more rest, you can put it off.”

“No, I think I’ve had enough rest.”

“Very well, then.”

Shannua called for her maid.

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