Chapter 48. Tear of Grace

Chase easily understood the implication of those words. It meant he should make an effort. To make Ailexia follow him out on her own feet.

“She won’t leave on her own because of her agreement with the late imperial consort.”

“Ah, that’s right. If she had made that agreement with you instead, Uncle, everyone would have been more comfortable, wouldn’t they?”

“……”

“Well, what that woman wanted was her daughter’s safety, so there wasn’t much choice.”

Chase’s hand gripping the teacup tightened considerably. Blue veins bulged on the back of his hand, and his knuckles protruded.

However, he inwardly controlled his emotions. The Emperor provoking him about Ailexia was nothing new, so calming his unpleasant feelings had become quite easy by now.

Helios stared at him blankly before letting out a light, bland laugh.

“Let’s end this topic here. I called you today because I have business with you. I heard you were at the secondary palace.”

Chase raised his gaze from the teacup. Did the Emperor have any business with him? Nothing appropriate came to mind.

But soon, the words that followed reminded him of something he had forgotten.

“I heard the Tear of Grace is in your possession, Uncle. You won it for 5 million gold, wasn’t it?”

“……”

“Looking at the source and the price, it seems someone else actually won the bid, but you’re the one who paid for it, aren’t you?”

When Chase first saw the item sent from the auction house as the winning bid, he had instantly sensed that Helios would summon him.

He knew that with the Emperor’s intelligence network, it wouldn’t take long to trace it. Since he was constantly monitoring Ailexia, it would have taken even less time.

However, he wasn’t being called because of Ailexia. Nor was it because the Tear of Grace was originally meant to be imperial property. That was a story that had fizzled out long ago.

There was another reason.

The Tear of Grace possessed a special power unknown to others.

“I’m curious if it really works.”

And that power was effective against an old pain that only the two of them shared. But Chase could give an immediate answer.

“It didn’t.”

“……”

“I tried it right away, but there was no change at all.”

He had tried wearing it and touching the jewel embedded in the center, but his world remained unchanged. He was still surrounded by noise.

Knowing that Chase wasn’t lying, Helios didn’t add anything further. He simply frowned and then relaxed his expression. Perhaps he hadn’t expected much, as his disappointment didn’t seem great.

“When do you plan to return to your duchy?”

“The administration is going well, so I plan to stay in the imperial capital for a while longer.”

If that was truly all the business he had, only trivial conversation followed. Several meaningless exchanges about topics neither particularly cared about continued until Helios cut it short.

“Next time you come to the imperial palace, don’t just visit the secondary palace, come to the main palace as well. There are only two members  of the imperial family left, yet it’s so difficult to see your face.”

“You must be feeling quite lonely.”

Of course, the conclusion wasn’t peaceful either.

An invisible cold wind blew between Helios, who was telling Chase to stop chasing after the troublemaker  in the secondary palace and recognize his position, and Chase, who retorted that Helios had killed all the imperial family members, so why should he come and go at his command.

It was like an everyday occurrence.

Eventually, Chase left, and Helios turned toward the main palace. Shortly after arriving at his office, his direct shadow subtly emerged from the darkness. The shadow quietly recited a surveillance report to Helios.

It was about what had happened in the banquet hall.

“How obtuse.”

After hearing the full report, Helios sneered. His hand naturally moved to the handle of the sword at his waist. The habit of caressing its smooth touch had become ingrained.

“Not even knowing exactly who he desires.”

Well, it was good for him. Sometimes watching those two made him think there was no greater farce.

‘Whether it’s the one cleverly using the misunderstanding, or the one struggling without realizing he’s being toyed with.’

Thinking they were both the same, he asked his shadow. However, his eyebrow raised crookedly at the answer he received.

“Was there no mention of the auction house fire?”

“No, Your Majesty. There was no detailed discussion about the auction house.”

It was strange. His uncle would certainly know about Ailexia’s fire trauma, and he had the intelligence to find out what had happened at the auction house.

“How was that woman’s attitude in the banquet hall?”

“It was strange, Your Majesty. Different from how she usually behaves toward His Grace the Grand Duke.”

Ailexia thoroughly used Chase but never allowed him to get closer. She was closer to being disgusted with him. It was because of her pathetic pride.

Considering her character, she probably resented being treated like a charity case from the beginning. And when that patron showed he wanted a deeper relationship with her, it would have seemed even more repulsive. As if he was trying to buy her with money. She would have hated the sight of someone flaunting their patronage.

Yet ironically, she didn’t hesitate to use that patron’s money to buy people for her own desires.

‘She knows her place even less than her mother.’

Helios recalled the late imperial consort who had arrogantly come to negotiate with him, asking him to guarantee her daughter’s safety. What made her think such a deal would succeed? The card she offered in the deal was utterly useless to him.

Nevertheless, the reason he eventually agreed to that deal was solely because Ailexia’s eyes were deep pink.

His red eyes sank momentarily. But soon returning to normal, he dismissed the shadow with a gesture and called the head servant.

Regardless, what mattered now was Ailexia showing a different attitude than before. If there was only one reason, he would have let it go, but if there were more, it needed to be checked. Who knew if she was planning some other mischief.

“Send word to the secondary palace. Tell her I’d like to have tea together soon.”

He intended to use this opportunity to determine whether everything he had known until now was a lie or not.

* * *

The carriage climbing the slope kept rattling. The woman sitting in the luggage compartment sighed and removed the hood of the robe she had been wearing pulled down low. Hair as bright as the Milky Way cascaded down softly, fluttering gently.

‘Ugh, how much further do we have to go?’

Ailexia, with her light pink eyes, frowned and patted her waist. The hard floor of the luggage compartment and wheels rattling over stones caused her body to bump around constantly. Her b*ttocks, waist, and pelvis were the most painful parts.

Normally, she would have ridden in a large carriage with plush sofas prepared, but it couldn’t be helped. The owner of this body didn’t have much money in hand, and she had left the woman’s house with only that.

Of course, she had retrieved emergency funds she had stashed away while at the secondary palace. But since half of that money had been spent on obtaining an invitation to the auction house, it was now almost gone. So much so that even hiring a cheap hired carriage was difficult.

So she was fortunate to have gotten a ride in a passing merchant’s luggage compartment. Otherwise, she would have had to walk all the way to her destination.

‘I can’t even consider it fortunate that I didn’t win the Tear of Grace.’

Ailexia furrowed her brow. She had gathered all her remaining money but still failed to win the bid.

‘Why did they bid so passionately for it? They couldn’t possibly know what it’s used for.’

She recalled the familiar voice that kept raising the price endlessly. Since it was her body, she couldn’t have misheard.

She just didn’t understand. Why had they jumped into the auction so aggressively?

‘Anyway, the problem is that it’s now harder for me to get it into my possession.’

Ha. She let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity and bit her thumbnail with a clicking sound.

‘Since I bid on it, it will definitely go into that man’s hands first. Whether he sends it to the secondary palace willingly or not, it will be difficult to find. Especially if it’s the latter…’

“Aaargh!”

Recalling the red eyes that always looked at her with desire, Ailexia had an outburst. Harsh breaths passed through her lips. It took her a while to calm down with deep breaths.

‘Fine. It can’t be helped.’

She just needed to find another way.

As if nothing had happened, Ailexia regained her composure. Just then, the carriage came to a stop. Ailexia pulled her robe’s hood down low again and got out of the luggage compartment. The merchant who had driven the carriage approached her.

“We’ve arrived, but… are you really going in there?”

The merchant glanced sideways at what lay ahead. The entrance to a dense forest of blue ancient trees was not only lush but somehow eerie, filled with a strange feeling.

“I agreed to let you ride along since it was on my way, but people from this area don’t even look at this place. Did you know that?”

“I know.”

“Well, then you know what you’re doing.”

Since her attitude had been so confident, almost arrogant, when she first asked for a ride, the merchant didn’t pay much attention to her brief response and just scratched his head. Then after rummaging in the luggage compartment for a moment, he threw something to Ailexia.

“Even though it’s daylight outside, that forest is so dense with trees that it’s dark, so take this.”

“…I don’t need it.”

“Ah, just take it. Is it because you have no money? It’s fine, I don’t need it. I’d feel uneasy if someone I personally dropped off died a violent death.”

Ailexia looked at the magic device emitting light in her hand, then back at the merchant. He had already climbed onto the driver’s seat and was holding the reins.

“That doesn’t have a very long duration, so keep that in mind. Well then, I wish you luck.”

“……Thank you.”

As the horse was about to leave, she blurted out the words she had been hesitating to say. The merchant gave her a thumbs up with a smile and departed.

Ailexia watched the carriage move away for a moment, then looked down at the magic device again. The first act of kindness she had received without payment left her with a strange feeling.

Eventually, she put the magic device in her bosom and headed for the entrance to the forest.

Determined once more to obtain what she wanted.