2. Matthias de la Glastia Part 1 – A Misaligned Cause

Sehera’s Lumière had returned home.

Sehera’s Lumière, Lumière de la Fleur, was the daughter of Emperor Patrick VI and Cassian I’s elder sister.

Lumière, who had early on married Edward XI, king of the neighboring country Tristan, had never experienced Astaire III’s tyranny. Thus, the Sehera embedded in Lumière’s heart was an unreturnable beautiful paradise.

Lumière always dreamed of her homeland. Without thinking of any ugliness, only the beauty of her childhood lived and breathed in her heart.

Was it unfortunate or fortunate? The marital bond did not last a lifetime. Tristan’s king died suddenly, and the imperial princess, left alone in a foreign country, chose to return home.

Thus, it had been twenty years since Sehera’s Lumière had set foot on her homeland.

“Nothing has changed. It’s exactly as it was in my childhood.”

An affectionate hand caressed Cassian’s cheek. Cassian drew a gentle smile toward Lumière. She particularly reminded him of their deceased mother.

“I didn’t expect you would choose to return home, Sister.”

“I didn’t think you would accept me either. I thought you’d tell me to become a ghost in Tristan.”

“Sister.”

At the somewhat embarrassed call, Lumière also curved her eyes toward Cassian. They were siblings with remarkably similar blue eyes.

“What? Did my joke hurt your feelings?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“My, my. Cassian, you’ve developed quite a sense of humor too.”

“It’s not humor. I’m serious.”

“It doesn’t feel that way though. It seems we have much to talk about.”

Lumière whispered softly. They were blood relatives meeting after twenty years. Even talking through several nights wouldn’t exhaust their topics of conversation.

“I also have someone I want to introduce you to.”

“I look forward to it since you say so, Sister.”

“Yes. You’ll take quite a liking to her too.”

Cassian blinked once. Hesitation showed in his eyelids.

“Take a liking to her? What do you mean by that?”

“I heard rumors that these days you can’t take your eyes off a blonde women.”

Cassian neither confirmed nor denied, only curled up the corners of his mouth. Lumière whispered in a dreamy, hazy voice.

“She’s a child I’ve kept with me in Tristan for a long time. Here, I’d like to be her chaperone. I hope there will be a good opportunity soon. I want to raise her to be an excellent socialite.”

“Madame de la Fleur.”

At that moment, someone appeared suddenly without any warning.

He was a peculiar man.

His jet-black hair seemed to contain darkness itself. His red eyes looking at Lumière were arrogant. Not the eyes of one serving under another. They were the eyes of one who rules the world.

Lumière turned to look at the man. As if such a peculiar man was familiar to her, Lumière asked casually.

“What is it, Lu?”

“The Empress has taken Mademoiselle Laure away.”

At the quiet resonance, Lumière’s expression distorted.

“The Empress? Why?”

“She said she had something to verify.”

Lumière turned sharply to Cassian. Her heightened voice was sharp.

“Cassian. What exactly happened in Sehera while I was gone?”

“Nothing that you would consider noteworthy happened, Sister.”

“Really?”

Lumière raised her eyebrows. Though a simple action, it questioned the Empress’s level of etiquette in taking away a guest.

It was natural for Cassian to defend the Empress.

“The Empress must have her reasons.”

“Since you say so, I too am curious. About what those reasons might be.”

A firm command followed.

“Lead the way. Let’s go to the Empress.”

Cassian’s face didn’t look particularly pleased. However, since it was an order from his elder sister, who had returned after nearly twenty years, he had no choice but to move his feet.

The Empress’s chambers they soon reached were noisy. The commotion from inside transmitted clearly into the corridor.

“Ah, ahhh! What are you doing!”

At the woman’s screams, Lumière flung open the bedroom door. The situation inside immediately caught her eye. Five or six maids were holding down one frail woman.

The woman’s bright golden hair fluttered. Thanks to her top being half-removed by the maids’ grip, her smooth back and waist were visible. Pure white without a single blemish.

At the sound of the door opening, the woman raised her head sharply. Seeing Lumière, she struggled and barely escaped from people’s grasp. She moved with staggering steps and barely managed to fall into Lumière’s embrace.

“Qu-Queen!”

A voice full of moisture cried out to Lumière. On her delicate cheeks, an extremely fragile tear rolled down.

It was a tear that made the hearts of all who watched ache.

* * *

The woman was the one Lumière brought from Tristan, saying she was a lady under her patronage.

Because of that woman, Sehera’s capital, Gabrienne, was turned upside down.

Brightly curling golden hair. Gentle violet eyes. Her gracefully extended body created attractive curves.

She was very charming, with both brightness and purity coexisting. She was a person possessing a dazzling beauty that seemed to brighten her surroundings.

‘She looks like her.’

‘Hmm…’

‘It can’t be…’

Though they recognized that uncommon appearance, there was a name they dared not speak aloud. Everyone swallowed that name, almost forbidden in the imperial palace, like a groan.

Amaryllis was the same. Amaryllis, who had dragged that woman to the Empress’s chambers, examined her intently.

Eyes cast down politely. Composed attitude. The face she wanted to forget but couldn’t forget even in dreams was before her eyes.

After looking at the woman for a while, Amaryllis finally found her composure and asked.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Belle Laure.”

Upon hearing the voice, Amaryllis flinched, her body trembling. It wasn’t just the face. The voice was also strikingly similar. Moreover, the name she uttered.

La belle laure.¹T/N: to the French readers, does this make sense? Should it be l’or? Lore? or is it not a word? In Korean it’s written as 라 벨 로르 I don’t know what it is in French

Originally, it was a term used to describe an ideal beauty that didn’t exist in reality. Perhaps because of this, Cassian’s voice echoed in Amaryllis’s ears.

‘Belle.’

That unforgettable voice with which he used to call Madame Marguerite. Cassian always called Madame Marguerite gently, with all the sincerity he held.

The name ‘Valentine’, derived from Saint Valentine, was rarely used for women. Even in the rare cases when it was given to a woman, the nickname became Tina.

So while everyone called her Tina, only Cassian would murmur ‘Belle’.

She knew what meaning was contained in that. Amaryllis clenched her fists tightly. She gestured to the maids standing nearby.

“There’s something I need to confirm.”

“Pardon?”

They say there are three lookalikes in the world, but it was impossible for someone to be this identical.

No matter how much Liam had killed Madame Marguerite, and Cassian had even held her funeral, there was still a possibility that the two had colluded beforehand. After all, Madame Marguerite was an irreplaceable existence not only to Cassian but also to Liam.

So there was something she had to verify.

“Strip her.”

The maids, following Amaryllis’s order, rushed towards the woman. The woman screamed at the sudden action.

“Ah, ahhh! What are you doing!”

Ignoring the woman’s screams, the maids faithfully carried out the Empress’s order. Rough hands pulled at her upper garment.

Soon, the piece of cloth separated from her body, exposed to the air. Her exceptionally white skin gleamed under the lamp light. The woman’s back created smooth curves.

The maids desperately pulled at the woman’s clothes. Amaryllis’s red eyes scanned the woman’s waist.

‘It’s not there.’

What should have been there if she were Madame Marguerite did not exist.

Just as Amaryllis’s eyes narrowed sharply, the door burst open. Lumière, Cassian, and an unfamiliar man stood in the corridor.

At the sound of the door opening, the woman raised her tearful gaze. She pushed away the maids and ran towards Lumière.

“Qu-Queen!”

“There, there. It’s alright.”

Lumière embraced the woman as if she was comforting a daughter. While stroking the head of the woman sobbing from distress, she whispered kindly.

“You must have been startled. Now that I’m here, dry your tears.”

“But… sniff. You suddenly brought me here…”

“I said it’s alright. Didn’t I teach you to act composed no matter when or where?”

Cassian stood frozen for a while, watching the scene. The tears rolling down the woman’s delicate cheeks were painfully familiar.

A familiar face. A familiar figure. A familiar scent. A familiar voice.

All the familiarity that he had never forgotten for a single moment since the day they first met poured out. Cassian unconsciously murmured.

“Belle…”

No one failed to hear that small utterance. Nevertheless, the Emperor’s gaze remained fixed solely on the woman.

The profile he had seen for years traced a familiar golden curve. The body he had embraced hundreds of times cast a familiar snow-white shadow.

Though he knew it couldn’t be, it was undoubtedly Valentine.

He reached out as if entranced. At that moment, someone swiftly caught Cassian’s wrist. It was the man Lumière had called Lu.

“Mademoiselle would not wish for this.”

A chilling voice followed. Fierce hostility blazed in the bright red eyes looking at Cassian.