Chapter 4: The Captured Empress (1)
How did things end up like this?
“…….”
“…….”
Unsatisfied with just ordering the knights, Terian ended up personally leading Larie to the village outskirts.
At the quiet edge of the village, a luxurious carriage had already been prepared. Terian placed Larie inside himself and sat across from her without offering further explanation.
In the sudden situation, Larie couldn’t gather her thoughts. All she could do was hold Rui tighter in her arms.
“Waaah……”
“……It’s okay, Rui. It’s okay. Hush……”
Outside the carriage, busy noises signaled preparations for departure. Trying to soothe the awakened Rui, Larie struggled to calm herself as well.
Looking down, she saw Terian in full armor. The finely engraved imperial crest reminded her again of his position. Sitting in the upper seat of the carriage by accident only made her more uneasy.
A heavy silence pressed down on them like a solid weight. In that suffocating air, she barely managed to lift her head.
Terian’s face had been rigid since the beginning. Seeing his lake-colored eyes again naturally made her tense up.
It was her first time seeing him in armor. His unfamiliar appearance emphasized the two-year gap between them.
“……Why are you taking me?”
“Because you are my wife. Isn’t that obvious?”
Her barely formed question was met with a sharp reply. An overly sensitive response, almost like an excuse. The situation made no sense.
True, Larie had run away without a word, but her disappearance should have benefited Terian. Above all, he hadn’t searched for her until now, making this sudden action all the more strange.
Could there be some political motive behind it?
Thinking quickly, Larie brought up a rumor she had heard at the market.
“I heard the new empress is coming…”
“The new empress?”
It must have been the wrong thing to say. His voice turned even colder, spitting out the words.
“Who other than you could be my empress?”
His tone was clearly cold, yet Larie felt strange. For some reason, it sounded like there was intense emotion buried beneath that chill.
It had to be her imagination. Larie bit her trembling lips, pushing away the thought. Then she forced herself to meet his eyes.
In the past, she would’ve lowered her gaze quietly and stepped back, but now, she had something to protect.
“I heard a princess of the Rassium Empire proposed a marriage alliance. If you’re using me politically because of that, I beg you to let me go.”
Thankfully, the words came out clearly thanks to her composure. She only prayed they wouldn’t offend him, but something odd happened.
Terian stared at her blankly, as if in a daze.
“…Your Majesty?”
Why was he making that face?
Before Larie could even fully express her confusion, Terian’s expression hardened again. The unfamiliar, unguarded look vanished like a mirage.
“It’s all nonsense.”
The sharp, cold tone was the Terian she remembered.
Even so, whether the rumor was true or not, it wasn’t reason enough to take her. She parted her lips to once again ask to return.
But then Terian, his eyes gleaming again, asked something unexpected.
“That man earlier—was he the child’s father?”
The words “child’s father” startled Larie. Because she had something to hide, it took her a moment to realize who he was referring to.
As soon as she understood it was Jean, she couldn’t hide her panic. She’d already been worried about him being caught by the knights, but she hadn’t expected him to come up like this.
“So you’re saying you can’t come with me.”
“His father…? Jean is just a kid. He didn’t know anything—he only tried to help me. Please don’t hurt him… Your Majesty.”
The unfamiliar title slipped awkwardly from her lips, but Larie still bowed her head to plead for Jean’s life.
“A kid?”
Terian’s vision darkened once more.
Seeing Larie bowing her head to beg for another man’s life sent violent emotions surging through him.
The distant way she addressed him only added fuel to the fire. She had never called his name anyway, but it still grated.
And then there was her naivety in calling that man a “kid.”
Terian had clearly seen the look in that man’s eyes as he stared at her—the same man who had yelled and fought back against the knights.
“Do you really think he sees himself as just a kid?”
“What…?”
Even after that, Larie looked completely lost. Her vivid reaction made Terian’s mind go white again.
Trying to steady himself, he turned his gaze—only to catch sight of her hair. Her beautiful silver hair had been left messy since the headscarf fell.
She looked so much like a prisoner.
The thought alone made something ache inside him.
Almost unconsciously, Terian reached out. Toward the silver hair he had chased for so long.
And then he froze.
As soon as his hand rose, Larie flinched and drew back in shock.
“….”
Her eyes squeezed shut, clearly afraid.
A crushing wave of self-loathing consumed him.
It may have been a reflex, but her reaction said everything about their current relationship.
Did she really think he would strike her?
His hand hesitated midair before slowly lowering to gently touch her ear.
He cautiously tucked her hair behind it, softer than the breeze.
“…Ah…”
Like someone fleeing, Terian abruptly stood up.
“…Don’t entertain foolish thoughts. Stay where you are.”
Leaving behind those curt words, Terian vanished from the carriage without another glance.
“……”
For a moment, Larie sat frozen, staring after his retreating figure. Only when the carriage began to move did she slowly let out a deep breath.
The tip of her ear, where his hand had brushed, still burned hot.
❖ ❖ ❖
It wasn’t until two full days later that she and Rui were finally able to step out of the carriage.
“Your Majesty the Empress. I am called Charelle.”
Introducing herself as the head lady-in-waiting of the Empress’s Palace, Charelle bowed deeply. The other maids behind her also bowed in unison toward Larie.
Startled by the sight that greeted her as soon as she stepped down, Larie sucked in a tense breath. After entering the palace, Terian had only informed her he would attend court and quickly disappeared.
Her arms, which hadn’t let go of Rui even once during the journey, ached with stiffness and pain.
Even as her body trembled, she clung to Rui with all her strength.
The fragile way she held the child tugged at the hearts of Charelle and the others, whose faces showed clear concern.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“…Please, just call me Larie.”
She couldn’t understand why they kept calling her by that title. But she didn’t want to speak her family name either, so she simply asked to be addressed by her given name.
At her words, Charelle only lowered her head again apologetically.
“This way, please.”
Thankfully, most of the people here seemed gentle in demeanor. A few even looked at Rui with concern, which offered her a slight sense of relief.
The Empress’s Palace had a unique design, with the main hall open at both front and back.
The outer entrance where Larie had arrived resembled a typical palace, with a private garden for the Empress and neatly maintained roads wide enough for several carriages to pass through.
The empress’s palace garden, despite being without a mistress until now, was surprisingly splendid. It rivaled even the famed Tulip Palace, blooming with flowers that clearly had been meticulously maintained.
“Your Majesty the Empress?”
“……”
Beyond the rear entrance of the main hall lay an enormous lake.
It was the Blessing Lake, said to protect the Laxtreen imperial bloodline for generations. Normally hidden behind large central doors, the hall was now wide open to welcome Larie.
“Ah…”
The vast lake, clearly visible even from afar, made Larie inhale sharply. Bathed in the radiant summer sun, the lake sparkled like a field of gemstones.
She had known the empress’s and emperor’s palaces were built around this lake—it was common knowledge. But seeing it for the first time in person was entirely different.
The brilliant blue waves of the lake overwhelmed her, far more imposing than the ceiling fresco in the ballroom.
“Gyah, ah!”
Rui, now awake, stretched his arms toward the lake. Unaware of his mother’s anxiety, he looked inexplicably excited.
It felt like she had stepped into a place she didn’t belong. Larie had never desired the position of empress.
“I need to go back.”
“Your Majesty.”
Sensing danger, Larie turned in panic. Before she could even step fully into the main hall, the waiting maids were thrown into disarray by her sudden flight.
But she could not leave the garden.
When it became clear she was serious about leaving the palace on foot, two knights quietly stepped in and blocked her path.
“This is outrageous. How dare you act so rudely in front of Her Majesty the Empress?”
Before Larie could speak, Charelle scolded the knights in an icy tone.
The knights, who had not meant to intimidate her from the start, immediately stepped back and bowed deeply.
“We beg your pardon. It was His Majesty’s command.”
“Please forgive us, Your Majesty.”
That was a sufficiently respectful gesture, but it did little to ease Larie’s confusion.
Was she truly trapped here?
“……His Majesty……”
She muttered blankly, and the knights, standing before her, again lowered their heads as if ashamed. Charelle, wearing a similarly somber expression, also seemed aware of the order that had been given.
Why?
Her thoughts were a tangled mess. He had told her that the proposed marriage alliance with the Rassium Empire was a baseless rumor. He wasn’t someone who would lie to her needlessly, so she believed it was true.
Was it because the divorce papers hadn’t been properly processed? But if that were the only reason, there was no need to bring her directly into the Empress’s palace.
Why hadn’t the divorce been finalized yet?
“For now, please try to rest a little.”
“……”
Charelle spoke gently to Larie, who was still standing blankly. Her worried gaze turned toward Rui.
Only then did Larie begin to regain her composure. The warmth of Rui in her arms slowly began to ground her again.
Whatever the reason, it seemed she had no choice but to stay here for now. She would confront him again—and tell him she wished to leave.
“Is there anything you require?”
As Larie seemed to calm a little, Charelle carefully led her inside. After a moment of hesitation at the thoughtful question, Larie made a quiet request.
“……If there’s any food suitable for a child, that would be helpful.”
“I’ll have it prepared right away.”
It didn’t take long to reach the Empress’s bedchamber. As soon as she sat in the spacious adjoining reception room, warm food was brought before her.
“……”
The ingredients used were incomparably better than anything she had ever prepared for Rui in the forest. There was food for Rui and something simple for her as well.
Perhaps it was the continued kindness of the maids, but seeing the food surprisingly awakened her hunger.
First, she picked up a puree that Rui was most familiar with and fed it to him directly. The maids continued to assist her so attentively it almost made her feel apologetic.
“Aow!”
Even though it would be natural for him to dislike the unfamiliar environment, Rui remained cheerful after waking up. Strangely enough, he even seemed to be in better condition than usual.
Larie felt nothing but admiration for Rui, who hadn’t cried much and had endured everything so well.
“My sweet Rui, does it taste good?”
“Gyaa! Awoo!”
Seeing Rui flail his arms as if answering her, Larie felt an odd emotion stir within her.
“……”
If only she had come from an ordinary noble family, she might have been able to raise Rui in a far better environment.
As the wave of damp emotion rose within her, all she could do was return a faint, bitter smile to Rui.