A Second Divorce is Difficult - Side Story 3 - The Emperor and the Empress (9)

Side Story 3 – The Emperor and the Empress (9)

The mood of the outing was completely ruined by Arlen’s appearance.

As a result, both carriages returned to the mansion in silence.

When the two couples returned, they exchanged greetings with only eye contact and headed to their respective mansions.

Back at the mansion, Shannua and Katrina ate a quick meal and didn’t say much until it was time to go to bed.

“The bracelet.”

It was only after they had turned off the light and laid down that Katrina spoke.

“The bracelet you gave to the lady, wasn’t it something you cherished?”

“She’s no longer a lady.”

Shannua corrected her title.

“Wasn’t it something you cherished?”

“I just wore it because I had to. It wasn’t something I cherished.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. You don’t need to worry.”

Katrina didn’t respond to Shannua’s last words.

A little later in the night, after Katrina had fallen asleep, Shannua quietly left the room.

He summoned his servant and quietly called for Eli.

“Today’s work is out of my hands. A letter arrived late today informing me that Arlen was going to Bloomfield. It must have been arranged on short notice.”

Returning to the mansion, Eli apologized for not informing Shannua about the knight’s letter guarding Lauf’s convent.

“It’s not like you had anything to do with it.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Was the Empress not surprised?”

“Fortunately, I think she’s fine. I’ll send someone to tell them not to punish Arlen separately and to withdraw the men you’ve attached to the Lauf Convent.”

Eli frowned at the unexpected comment.

“…May I ask for the reason?”

Arlen was someone Eli couldn’t forgive either. He couldn’t easily grant Shannua’s request, even if it was. He had no intention of doing so.

“Let’s just say it’s not about showing sympathy.”

Shannua knew what Arlen had done to both Eli and Ruby.

“Then let me clarify like this. Do not obstruct Arlen wherever she goes, just follow her.”

Shannua said to Eli, who was still looking at him suspiciously.

“……I understand.”

“Yes, please.”

Shannua finished what he had to say and went back into the bedroom to lie down.

When she heard him quietly lay down again, Katrina gently opened her eyes and closed them again.

Her hand clutched the covers tightly.

* * *

Eli’s orders had reached Bloomfield, and Arlen was released from Bloomfield and returned to the Lauf Convent.

This did not mean the end of her prayers of penance at the convent.

“You must repent more! Hurry, pray, pray!”

The Mother superior forced her to her knees on the cold stone floor and struck her with a whip to force her to pray.

“You need to beg and beg for how big your mistake was. You’ve been repenting for years, but you still can’t repent and realize what a foolish human you are. That’s what you need to confess to God!”

The violence disguised as repentance prayers continued.

As Arlen’s sudden actions caused considerable damage to their hands, Bloomfield announced that they could not provide the rehabilitation program fee.

Since those in the convent were obviously personnel, the convent lent them here and there for labor fees and separately collected personnel expenses. It was not one or two people, so the cost was quite considerable.

Bloomfield had its reasons.

The Bloomfields had been informed that Arlen had attempted to attack Earl Rox, and they were temporarily withdrawing their patronage, blaming the Bloomfields for failing to protect the Count.

The loss of Eli’s sponsorship was devastating for Bloomfield, as he was one of their biggest patrons.

However, in the face of Bloomfield’s apparent mismanagement, the only other organization that could afford to cut back on spending was the Lauf Convent.

In the end, it was the convent that had the most to lose, as they were the ones holding Arlen.

After a long moment of prayer, the Mother Superior left the prayer room, wiping away the sweat from her face. She left behind Arlen, who collapsed on the cold floor, seemingly asleep.

As soon as the door closed and the Mother Superior’s footsteps faded into the distance, the seemingly unconscious Arlen opened her eyes.

She got up staggeringly, opened the door, and looked around the empty corridor.

Then, cautiously, she stepped outside.

On days when the Mother Superior was angry, the nuns avoided going out as much as possible to avoid being seen by her. When Arlen entered the prayer room, she was often left unattended until she came out. The calculation was that if she was beaten, she wouldn’t be able to move properly.

So today, she crouched down to avoid getting hit.

As she headed outside, her eyes sparkled for the first time since entering the convent.

“Hhhhh……. Nobody…… nobody can touch me…….”

Laughing in an eerie voice, Arlen made her way out of the convent through the escape route she’d been spying on.

It was a few days later that a letter arrived for Shannua in Bonneuil.

The letter received by Shannua came from a nearby temple in Bonneuil.

As if he knew it was coming, he opened the letter, read it, and prepared to leave.

“I need to go out for a while.”

“……Where?”

Katrina, who was drinking tea with him, asked.

It was unusual for her to ask him where he was going, but Shannua couldn’t answer yet.

He could only say as much as possible to Katrina, who was not taking her eyes off him.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“…… Okay.”

Shannua listened to Katrina’s weak reply before heading out the door.

Katrina stared after him as he left the mansion.

* * *

The attic, where unnecessary items were stored, was filled with dusty clutter. There, Arlen was imprisoned with her hands and feet tied.

“Why…… why are you doing this?”

Arlen jerked back in fear, even though there was nowhere else to go with the wall behind her.

“I mean, why would a filthy thing like you carry something valuable and get treated like this?”

“If you think it’s valuable, then go ahead and put a price on it, and why are you locking me up?”

Arlen raised her voice despite her fear of the man in front of her and tried to remember why she was there.

After escaping the convent safely, she found an inconspicuous place to hide and sleep for the next few days, just in case anyone was following her.

When she thought she could no longer sense her pursuers, she left.

Then she walked for another two days to the jeweler’s shop in the first town she came out of.

When she got there, she handed over the only thing she had; Shannua’s bracelet, which he had mercifully given her.

When she first extended the jewel, the owner of the jewelry store recognized its value and his eyes sparkled.

As he briefly glanced at the bracelet, he hesitated with a look of contemplation, wondering how to negotiate with Arlen.

“Do you mind if I inspect the item more closely?”

It was only natural that the jeweler would want to know the exact value of the item so that he could buy it for as little as possible, and Arlen could sell it for as much as possible.

She nodded.

As the owner scrutinized the jewelry with a magnifying glass, Arlen dreamed.

With the money from the bracelet, she would fix her face. Then she could reverse everything.

She would be her most beautiful self again, shining by Shannua’s side.

Yes, that was her destiny. To shine, to be beautiful, to be adored by all—that’s what she was meant to do.

Arlen believed that once she fixed her face, everything—her situation, position, and love—would all return.

“Just wait a moment.”

Lost in her blissful reverie, Arlen was interrupted by the irritated voice of the jeweler.

She blinked and nodded quickly.

She shrugged off the jeweler’s irritation, thinking it was just the hassle of finding out the value of the gem and coming up with the cash.

But when the owner returned from a brief absence with his men and sealed the shop door, she realized something was amiss.

“Why are you bringing this nonsense here?”

“Why are you doing this? What are you doing?”

Arlen asked, struggling to dodge the guards who grabbed her arms from either side.

But the jewelry store owner only gestured to take her away without explaining.

And so she was trapped here.

“Just wait a little. I’ll bring you out even if you refuse when the time comes.”

With that, the jewelry store owner locked her in a windowless room and walked out.

“Why the hell…… why……!”

Arlen screamed like a madman, angry that things weren’t going her way.

But the sound only echoed inside her confinement, never reaching anyone outside.

* * *

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