Chapter 52. Love and Death

Enoch clearly didn’t care who was watching us. Really, he didn’t care at all that his sister was watching. He was a madman. I suddenly thought of the fairy tale ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ Not knowing shame is a frightening thing.

“Hmm? Go on.”

“……”

Avoiding Enoch’s urging gaze, I glanced at Roelyn. She was watching us with a shocked expression, but soon she looked at me with suspicious eyes, as if she had realized something. If I didn’t kiss Enoch, she would surely doubt our relationship even more.

Swallowing a sigh, I had no choice but to face Enoch again. His clear, topaz-like eyes were full of mischief. I mustered the courage to glare at him sharply once, then leaned forward and stood on tiptoe.

My hands, gripping his shoulders, trembled. Before our lips touched, I closed my eyes as if to escape reality.

Pressing my lips against his briefly, I quickly pulled away. Though it was only a moment, the sensation lingered vividly, leaving me dazed.

As I put my heels back on the ground, I stumbled a bit. Enoch chuckled softly and pulled me close to support me. I resented my racing heart and burning face.

“It’s better than I thought.”

“……?”

He whispered softly in my ear, just loud enough for me to hear. Roelyn, watching us, was now almost fuming. She must have been shocked, and her shock had turned to anger.

Worried she might faint, I subtly pushed Enoch away and gave him a look. Thankfully, he noticed my glance towards Roelyn.

With a slightly mischievous smile, he turned to Roelyn. She was glaring at us, unable to believe the affectionate display she had just witnessed.

Roelyn shouted in a voice like a steaming kettle.

“What on earth are you doing, Brother Enoch? In front of a guest! Do you have no shame?”

For a moment, I empathized with her so deeply that I almost nodded. But to Roelyn, who knew nothing, I was just an accomplice in this shameless act, and her eyes shot daggers at me.

“Doing such indecent things in front of a guest… How unladylike! The rumors about you don’t seem to be entirely baseless, Miss Lopez!”

But if I hadn’t kissed Enoch, she would have doubted our relationship, right? I felt a bit wronged. Though Roelyn didn’t seem to care about my feelings.

“What rumors?”

“……!”

When Enoch took a step towards her and asked, Roelyn flinched and froze. Even to her, his blood relative, Enoch seemed intimidating when he exuded such pressure.

“B-Brother, you know, right? About Miss Lopez’s biological mother… They say the Katarian woman was mad. So they say Miss Lopez might have inherited that madness…”

“Katar is one of Freuden’s major trading partners. It’s a bridge connecting the continents of Europia and Almaira. This year too, a delegation from Katar will visit Freuden. Why don’t you say that in front of them?”

Enoch sneered coldly. Roelyn blinked in disbelief and eventually looked like she was about to cry.

“H-how could you say that to me, Brother…”

“I’ve been spoiling you for too long, haven’t I? It’s time to stop. Not only your body but your mind needs to grow too, Roelyn. Just how long do Henry and I have to put up with your whims?”

There wasn’t a single wrong word in what he said… I anxiously observed Roelyn. She was trembling and her tears were falling.

She’s not going to faint, is she? I hope the only princess of the Frederick royal family doesn’t pass out and needed to be carried away from the Grand Duke of Bayern’s residence.

“Brother, have you lost your mind? How could you say such harsh words to me? And how could you leave Angela and be with that woman… Do you really think that woman is suitable to be the grand duchess?”

Unfortunately, I was not the tragic heroine, so I couldn’t be hurt or cry at Roelyn’s words. I just shrugged my shoulders and quietly stepped back. I didn’t want to get involved in a sibling fight.

“Don’t be mistaken, Roelyn. You and Angela Besnard. I have no feelings for Angela.”

“Why…? You got along well when you were young. Angela has been devoted to you since childhood…”

“Get a grip, Roelyn. Don’t be fooled by that woman’s angelic facade. As a member of the royal family, you should develop the judgment befitting your status. Otherwise, you’ll keep going in circles.”

Enoch’s cold reprimand made Roelyn’s large eyes overflow with tears.

Were her tears for Angela, who failed in her unrequited love? No, I think differently. Roelyn was pitying herself. Because the fairy tale she had imagined ended with ‘the wicked witch won.’

Roelyn, who started to cry bitterly, eventually fainted. Enoch just looked at her being carried away with indifferent eyes. His gaze was so cold that one could believe she was a stranger, not his sister.

* * *

I somehow feel like I’ve become the villain.

No, that’s right.

In poor Roelyn’s fairy tale, the heroine is Angela, and I’m the wicked witch who ensnares the heroine in a plot.

After the incident where Roelyn was carried away, King Henry sent a letter to Enoch expressing his regret. The gist of the letter seemed to be asking Enoch to treat Roelyn better. I didn’t read it directly, so I don’t know the details.

And Queen Olivia also sent me a letter full of concern, gently advising me that it would be better not to be at odds with Angela or Roelyn to get along well in the capital’s social circles.

At this point, I felt slightly fed up and almost replied, ‘Fine, let them hate me.’ But I barely came to my senses. Even if I had only about a year left to live, I couldn’t just live recklessly.

“Haa…”

As I sighed deeply while picking at my penne pasta, Jasmine’s worried gaze fell on me. Not wanting to burden kind-hearted Jasmine, I pretended to have indigestion and placed my hand on my upper abdomen, putting down my utensils. Jasmine approached and asked in a concerned voice.

“Are you feeling unwell? Should I call the doctor?”

“It’s okay. It’s not that serious. Just bring me a digestive pill.”

“Yes, please wait a moment. Should I clear the table?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Understood, Miss.”

Thus, I finished my lunch earlier than usual and swallowed a digestive pill that Jasmine brought with water. I did feel a bit uncomfortable, so it wasn’t entirely faked.

My next schedule for the afternoon was Katarian language lesson. Carrying my notebook, textbook, and dictionary, I left the room, and Jasmine quickly followed. She gave me an eager look, wanting to carry my things, so I had no choice but to hand them over to her. I couldn’t take away Jasmine’s sense of fulfillment.

Watching Jasmine, who followed me with a pleased expression, I couldn’t help but smile. These little joys are the spice that makes life colorful.

Thanks to that, I was able to attend my Katarian lesson with a somewhat lighter heart. Near the end of the lesson, I subtly asked Renève about the word ‘almorter.’

“Yes, that pronunciation is correct. You need to make a stronger sound and a guttural noise at the end of ‘-ter.’ Let me demonstrate, and you can follow.”

Renève then demonstrated a very professional and impressive pronunciation, and I tried to mimic it as best as I could. After practicing several times, my pronunciation became quite decent. Renève praised me, saying I had a talent for languages.

“As you mentioned, ‘almorter’ is a polysemous word meaning love and death. But it has other meanings as well.”

Renève pulled out a larger and thicker dictionary than mine from her bag and opened it on the desk. Following her finger, I found the entry for ‘almorter.’ It was quite long.

“It can also mean death by love or love to the point of death.”

“Hmmm…”

“And sometimes it means the pain caused by love, depending on the context.”

Context. The hardest part of learning a new language is the context. There are so many words in the world that have multiple meanings depending on the context.

“But this word is literary and not often used in everyday conversation. You might encounter it frequently in plays performed in Katarian…”

“I see…”

There was no way a Katarian play would be performed in Freuden. I just smiled awkwardly.

“But recently, I heard that an opera reinterpreting a Katarian tragedy in the Freuden style is very popular. If you get the chance, why not go see it? They say the voice of the prima donna, Mercedes, is like it came from heaven.”

Mercedes, I’ve heard that name before. She’s a very attractive actress with excellent singing and acting skills. I’ve heard that men’s courtship never stops for her. I also heard that her lover, Marquis Norbert, is troubled by it. Come to think of it, Marquis Norbert is also a close friend of Enoch’s. I’ve never met him, though.

“Alright, I’ll talk to Enoch about it.”

“Yes, it would be great if you two could go see it together.”

Renève then explained that the etymology of ‘almorter’ comes from ‘almo,’ meaning love, and ‘morte,’ meaning death. She also shared an old story related to the etymology.

I listened to her story with great interest, and after the lesson, I returned to my room feeling somewhat fulfilled and in a good mood.

Studying was enjoyable. There were more pleasures in life than I had thought. Realizing that made me feel a bit sad. I quickly shook off the melancholy feeling and pulled out my mother’s diary from my desk drawer, opening it to a random page.

Coincidentally, the word ‘almorter’ caught my eye. What a coincidence! I stared at the page in amazement, but apart from the word ‘almorter,’ I couldn’t decipher any other parts. At most, I could recognize the subject ‘I.’

It seemed I needed to study harder to reach the level where I could read my mother’s diary fluently.

* * *

Although it was somewhat troublesome dealing with the aftermath of Roelyn’s fainting incident, a few days passed without any major events, aside from the busy preparations for the engagement ceremony. And soon enough, May 13th arrived.

The Friday the 13th I had predicted to Enoch had finally come.