The Beast Bit The Throat of the Late Empress - Chapter 18

“Run away, Your Majesty.”

As soon as Divlik disappeared, the people gathered in front of the restaurant spoke in unison. Run away, they said.

Run away? To where?

How far could she run even if she did?

And to say run away now… If she had any thought of running away, she would have already fled with Charlotte’s hand in hers…

“Where is the nearest path to the castle?”

“Pardon? Oh, just follow this road straight to the square and then take the northern path.”

Eva untied the cloth covering her eyes to first confirm the direction she needed to go.

When Eva asked for the way to the castle and started walking in that direction, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. They seemed unable to believe why Eva would miss such an opportunity and voluntarily return to the castle.

“It seems she wasn’t forced into bed after all.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You saw that man earlier, didn’t you? With a body that looks like it could deflect arrows, and that face. Even I would prefer to be in his arms rather than with the boyish Emperor Fabian.”

No one would believe it. That not only had she not simply resigned herself to losing her country, but that the desire for death could be as strong as the desperate wish for a loved one sent to war to return safely.

“Surely the Empress wouldn’t have done such a thing.”

“Why, there were such rumors before. That the Empress killed her promised lover to become empress. Maybe she’s actively throwing herself at the new emperor to become empress again in this opportunity.”

“Come on, do you really believe that? If the Empress hadn’t shown us grace when we were short on crops due to poor harvest three years ago in autumn, we would all have starved to death. How could such a good person do such a thing?”

“It was well-known that her relationship with the Emperor wasn’t good. Anyway, it’s suspicious that she’s trying to return to the castle like that.”

Someone who was unable to believe it was glancing at Eva said such things. The only truth was that she had killed her promised lover to become empress, but that was it.

Eva didn’t care what others thought. She just felt that she could no longer wait idly until the day Divlik would finally get tired and annoyed of her and kill her. She couldn’t throw herself from the castle walls, but she could do anything to hasten her death.

Eva silently moved her feet, hearing the sneers of some people around her who now shamelessly criticized her for throwing herself at someone to survive.

* * *

“Is this how nobles usually behave?”

Despite several people pleading for her to escape, saying they would help, Eva climbed the uphill road leading to the castle after leaving the city of Hael. She didn’t even look back once, as if she had no lingering attachments.

Finn, who was following Eva from a distance with Divlik while hiding their presence, spoke as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Is honor that important? Does she still think she’s the empress even if she’s about to die? After all, for all her boasting about her intelligence, her actions are utterly foolish.”

Although Finn described Eva’s decision not to run away as foolish, Divlik knew she wouldn’t flee. That’s why he had left Eva alone.

—I’ll believe those words of yours, that you understand your position well.

He knew what those words meant, that Eva, knowing full well what would happen to the servants in the castle if she ran away, wouldn’t flee.

However…

He thought that if people saw a former empress walking to the castle on her own feet, they would laugh at Eva, thinking, “Is this how she’s treated even after giving her body to the conqueror?” He believed that by now, no matter how good an empress Eva had been, everyone would mock her.

So, the reason he followed behind Eva after telling her to go alone wasn’t because he was afraid she might run away, but because he wanted to watch Eva become small in front of people who were once her subjects, seeing how they would mock her. Yet, surprisingly, a scene unfolded where people who criticized Eva were being scolded by others.

Divlik felt his insides boiling with anger, unable to bear it.

The reason his expression had been dark at the restaurant earlier was for this reason. On the way from the fountain to the restaurant, there were occasionally people hiding and sobbing quietly, and he thought, “Ah, even though he was a terrible emperor, he was still their emperor, so they’re crying because he died.” But those tears were all for Eva.

“How pitiful…”

“He should have protected the Empress even if he died. And he called himself an emperor…”

He hadn’t expected that not only the people in the castle who had direct relationships with Eva, but even most of the people outside the castle who had no particular connection to Eva would react like this. How good of an empress must she have been, what kind of person must she have been?

“It seems she has no intention of running away at all, seeing as she’s climbing all the way up to that hill where they said there used to be a peach orchard. Shall we stop following?”

“No.”

“Do you think she can make it all the way up? It looks like she might collapse.”

“If she collapses, let her die without anyone to help her.”

Although Finn laughed because it didn’t seem like Divlik really thought Eva would die, he was slightly surprised. In the five years they had been together, including the time preparing for war, this was the first time Divlik had taken back his words, even if it was a joke. Didn’t he say he would never let her die…

“Go down and bring the horses. There’s nothing more to watch.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

Finn couldn’t ask why Divlik had changed his mind. Because Divlik was looking at Eva, who was walking so far away she was barely visible, with eyes that seemed to genuinely wish for her to collapse and die.

* * *

It was a path she had never walked up before. Conversely, it was also a path she had never walked down. To be more precise, whether on foot or by carriage, Eva hadn’t traveled this road more than a few times in five years. And this was her first time alone.

Although climbing the uphill was difficult as her strength hadn’t fully recovered, Eva enjoyed walking on the earth with her own feet. When she sat down as if resting for a moment on the brief flat ground between hills, it was partly because she was tired, but also because she wanted to touch the soil with her hands.

“This used to be a big lake, they say.”

“A lake? Here?”

“Yes. Mom said all of Florin used to be a lake, but when the water dried up, it became like this, and because the soil is good, everything grows well.”

Unlike the soil in Florin that would stick to her hands even if it hadn’t rained for days, the soil here was coarse like sand and slipped through her fingers instantly. She had always thought that if she were to die someday, she would be buried in that good soil and contribute to blooming flowers and trees… The fact that the land where her body would be buried felt so barren made her feel sad and want to laugh at the same time.

“Mommy.”

A small child’s voice called out to Eva. Startled, she raised her head to see a boy who looked about three or four years old and his mother running from afar.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

The woman hurriedly picked up the child, who dangled from her arms, laughing cheerfully, unable to understand the situation.

“Your Majesty! You’re alive! Thank goodness!”

The woman, recognizing Eva after picking up her child, was overjoyed to see her. Upon closer look, Eva recognized her too. She was one of the people Eva had paid to save when Fabian had arbitrarily cut down the peach trees that used to line this hill. Eva dusted off her hands and stood up.

“Esther, what brings you out here?”

“I came to see if we could plant peach trees again.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I met a merchant who said the contract to supply seedlings to the Western Grand Duchy was suddenly canceled, and he was about to throw away all the seedlings he had grown. He said he’d sell them cheap if we took them right away. I thought maybe we could start peach farming again…”

Esther’s voice trailed off, as the decision to plant peach trees here again could only be made without considering Fabian’s return. Eva smiled while stroking the child’s hair.

“You should ask for permission from the castle first.”

“Permission? Ah… Do you think they’ll grant it?”

“Probably… They’ll likely allow it and tell you to take good care of them.”

“I hope so. I heard that person came from the southern region. Aren’t peaches common fruits in the south? I thought they might like it if we paid rent for the idle land and offered the best fruits.”

How grown would the seedlings be that would be planted here? No matter how grown they were, Eva wouldn’t be able to see these trees take root, bloom, and bear peaches, but it would be good if someone could witness that sight on this land.

“Oh my. This isn’t the time for such talk, and my child is still clumsy with words and couldn’t apologize properly… Please forgive us, Your Majesty.”

“It’s alright. The ball didn’t hit me hard. It’s a dangerous place for playing ball, so be careful not to fall, okay?”

Eva stroked the child’s head once more and then withdrew her hand with a gaze full of some kind of regret. Looking at Eva like this, Esther, who had been hesitating several times, finally opened her mouth to ask.

“His Majesty the Emperor…”

Eva shook her head with a faint smile. It meant she didn’t know, but she had no intention of correcting Esther’s misunderstanding that he had died. Esther took Eva’s hand and said with a firm expression.

“It’s enough that Your Majesty is alive like this. Whatever happened, it’s fine as long as you’re alive. Isn’t that right?”

Esther, like others, seemed to guess the reason why only Eva was alive in this way, and offered words of comfort several times, saying it was still okay.

“Who knows. Maybe they’ll send you back to your hometown later. Until then, just endure with your eyes tightly shut, Your Majesty.”

Even if it was a misunderstanding, the concern was sincere, and Eva smiled, grateful for that sincerity. Back then, when her belly was about to burst, Esther had retreated asking if the Empress would be alright like this…

“Stay healthy.”

So that child in her belly has grown this much. Happy but unable to give the child even a piece of candy in her current situation, Eva stroked the child’s head and offered a prayer to God instead. As she was about to take a step towards the castle, which still looked far away even after walking for a long time after finishing the conversation, the sound of a horse galloping urgently approached from behind.

“Merlin! Hold onto mommy tight. Your Majesty, please move this way too!”

Esther, who had been facing the lower part of the hill, noticed the direction the horse was coming from and stepped back a few steps with her child in her arms, but…

“Your Majesty!!”

For some reason, Eva stood still in her place as if nailed to the ground, not moving.