Chapter 6

At her words, Helio’s hand, approaching endlessly, stopped.

Liliana breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously opened one eye. Seeing her actions, Helio chuckled.

“You’re quite outspoken.”

“Pardon?”

In the blink of an eye, Helio lightly tapped Liliana’s cheek.

“Ouch!”

Startled, Liliana recoiled. Helio continued to smile mischievously.

“I was just trying to see what you did to make your cheeks red.”

Helio’s face was full of playfulness. It was clear he wanted to tease and torment Liliana’s ridiculous antics.

Instead, he jerked his chin, signaling her to explain why her cheek was swollen.

Liliana hesitated, embarrassed. She didn’t think anything good would come from being honest. She touched her swollen cheek, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, I bumped into something.”

“Does the Kingdom of Nieta call getting slapped ‘bumping into something’?”

‘How did he know?’

Liliana looked at Helio with wide eyes. He crossed his arms, observing her intently.

“You’re curious about how I knew, aren’t you?”

‘How does he know that too?’

“It’s written all over your face.”

Helio extended his index finger and flicked her forehead. Though not decisive, Liliana, who had just woken up, easily tipped back. She wobbled briefly, then straightened, rubbing her forehead.

“Your curiosity is written on your face, and so is the fact that you got slapped. It also says, ‘There’s no point in telling him, so I should keep it to myself.'”

“Goodness.”

Liliana covered her face with her hands but soon realized it was pointless. She sighed and placed her hands on her lap.

Helio thought she would now spill everything.

Informing those in the power of someone’s misdeeds is difficult at first, but once the opportunity arises, anyone would seize it, especially if they were the victim.

But Liliana remained silent, awkwardly fiddling with her lap, not saying a word. Eventually, Helio decided to broaden the opportunity.

“Lady Gabriel visited you today, didn’t she?”

Liliana simply nodded, saying nothing. Helio then realized Liliana had no expectations of him.

She didn’t have even the slightest hope that, as the emperor’s consort, he might take care of her a bit more. To her, telling him what happened held no value.

“The maids must have told you she might become the empress.”

At Helio’s probing words, Liliana nodded again and answered without hesitation.

“Yes, I’ll endure it. I endured it earlier, too.”

She spoke as if it were natural. Listening to her, it felt like Helio was advising her to serve her superiors properly, which he found oddly displeasing.

And Helio was not one to quietly endure displeasure. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and looked at Liliana.

“Why endure it? It would be fun to see you fight.”

At that moment, Liliana’s forehead seemed to scream, ‘Psycho jerk.’

Helio, reading it clearly, burst into laughter. Liliana, however, had no idea why he suddenly laughed.

Helio clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making a slight sound.

“If you two fight, you would be at a disadvantage, right?”

“Of course. I’ll endure it, so don’t worry. I won’t cause trouble in the inner palace or embarrass you.”

“I said, don’t endure it. That’s what I want.”

“As you said, I’d be at a disadvantage.”

Liliana spoke as if it was apparent, pressing her hand to her chest. Helio laughed again. Liliana found his reaction incomprehensible.

Still smiling brightly, Helio spoke.

“If you do something you can’t handle, I’ll protect you. So don’t hold back too much.”

Liliana was bewildered, first because Helio smiled handsomely and second because she couldn’t understand his proposal.

Liliana was not one to suppress her curiosity. Besides, the emperor in front of her encouraged her to ask. So she did.

“Why?”

“I find you amusing.”

Liliana tilted her head, looking puzzled. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked again.

“Excuse me, but what part of me is…?”

“How you defy me like this.”

“Oh, I see…”

Helio watched the woman, who didn’t seem to understand at all.

He recalled how the Empress Dowager had tried to bring up Liliana in conversation today. That old mother of his seemed to think Helio cherished Liliana significantly.

What could have planted such thoughts in the Empress Dowager’s mind? Helio pondered this as he visited the Emerald Palace but found nothing.

All that remained was the meaningless, scattered sound of laughter.

Thinking he could no longer waste any time, Helio stood up. Liliana, following his lead, quickly got up and asked,

“Are you leaving?”

It wasn’t even “Are you leaving already?” but just “Are you leaving?”—wasn’t it an unmistakable expression of wanting him to disappear immediately? Helio barely managed to suppress another burst of laughter.

“Yes.”

As Helio stepped forward, Liliana followed him as if to see him off, scurrying behind. When Helio turned around to signal her not to follow him any further, she spoke with an awkward expression.

“Thank you for saying you’d protect me once. Well, I’ll try to behave and not cause any trouble. I’ll keep out of sight. Just this one time.”

Since she emphasized “just this one time” so much, it seemed he had no choice but to honor it once.

Helio nodded briefly and headed outside. Liliana followed him to some extent but stopped at the entrance of the Emerald Palace, not coming any further.

At that moment, Helio felt an overwhelming sense of boredom.

—

“You came out of nowhere, and I thought my heart would fall out of my chest!”

Liliana exclaimed, almost screaming, as she hurried back inside the Emerald Palace. She was about to grumble when the maids approached, saying the meal was ready. Thinking of the soft bread from breakfast, her anger suddenly subsided, and she felt a gentle peace wash over her.

Liliana, now in high spirits, headed to the dining room.

“Sophia, what’s on the menu today?”

“You must be hungry, so I had them prepare steak. The salad is made with potatoes. I’m not sure about the rest but for dessert…”

Sob, sob… sob sob…

Amid Sophia’s chatter, a clear sound of crying could be heard. Liliana looked up, startled.

“They brought grapes from the Huren region. You’ve heard of them in the Kingdom of Nieta, right? The grapes are huge and tasty.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. But didn’t you hear something just now?”

Sob, sob… sob sob…

Even as she asked Sophia, the sorrowful crying continued. But Sophia tilted her head as if she heard nothing.

“I don’t hear anything.”

Sob, sob… sob sob…

But even at that moment, the crying didn’t stop.

Liliana felt goosebumps rise on her arms.

She barely touched her dinner and returned to her bedroom. The crying she had heard on the way to the dining room was still vividly clear, giving her chills.

She tried to forget it by reading a book, doing embroidery, and other things, but it was useless.

Even after getting into bed late at night, the unsettling sound of crying haunted her mind.

‘Could someone in the Emerald Palace be being bullied?’

But Liliana quickly shook her head. If it was that kind of crying, Sophia would have heard it, too. It wasn’t a faint sound, after all.

‘Could it really be a ghost…?’

Shivering with fear, Liliana suddenly stood up. She decided it was better to check it out herself than to stay scared.

Throwing on a shawl, she cautiously opened the door. The maid on duty tonight was dozing off. Liliana left without waking her, tiptoeing out.

The crying had been heard on the path from the entrance of the Emerald Palace to the dining room. Liliana glanced around the dining room entrance before slowly walking toward the palace entrance.

For a while, everything was quiet, and she saw nothing. She could hear footsteps in the distance, likely a maid patrolling the palace.

Thinking she must have misheard, she turned to go back when,

Sob, sob… sob sob…

Liliana’s eyes widened. It was the same sound she had heard earlier! She strained her ears to locate the source of the sound.

From the palace entrance to the dining room, one would turn left. But the crying sound grew louder when turning right. She must have overheard it from somewhere in between.

Liliana walked down the right path, and the crying grew louder.

At the end of the right path was a small room, the door looking too shabby to be a regular room. It was a storage room hidden in an unnoticed corner.

Going in there would get her scolded by Sophia… But Sophia wasn’t there. Liliana grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it. The doorknob creaked as it turned.

Upon entering, the musty smell of the storage room hit her nose. Liliana blew the dust swirling in front of her face and looked around.

No one was visible in the room, yet the crying continued. As fear made her fingers tingle and she thought of calling someone, her gaze caught something. Something small and faintly glowing in the dark room. Liliana approached it with a confused expression.

It was slightly larger than an adult woman’s palm, with pale blue skin and wings curled on its back. Liliana recognized this unfamiliar creature.

“A… spirit?”

The blue spirit stopped crying at Liliana’s voice and slowly looked up. Its tear-streaked face was full of surprise.

“You can see me?”