Whose Child Belongs to the Emperor - Chapter 3 - Part 8

Chapter 3 – Part 8

Alaina Salvatore, the only daughter of Marquis Salvatore, sat in the carriage. Her expression was vacant, almost doll-like.

Yet, for Isaac Salvatore, her return alone was satisfying enough to keep a smile on his lips.

“Well, Alaina. How does it feel to be treated with such respect?”

“…”

“After experiencing the harshness of the world through this incident, it’s time to prepare yourself to become the empress.”

Alaina silently nodded her head. From the troublesome daughter who caused headaches, she now behaved meekly, bringing even more satisfaction to the Duke.

“When you become the empress, half of this empire will be yours. No need to worry about mundane tasks or shivering in the cold. I’ll elevate you to the highest position, so all you need to do is sit there without any thoughts.”

When Alaina nodded again, the Marquis turned his head with a pleased expression, gently patting her shoulder.

Alaina glanced at him. But through the window, she could see her reflection, knowing her expression was still dull.

‘…Disgusting.’

That’s all she thought.

It had been five years since she ran away when her father tried to marry her off to her brother.

Perhaps her father thought she couldn’t endure it and would return quickly, but Alaina Salvatore was trained to become the future empress.

“I’m going to change my name to Mesili and start a trading business.”

Even though she couldn’t become the empress, everything she had accumulated was not going to disappear.

The connections she had built as the prospective empress, the eyes to understand the trends and currents of society, were just as crucial.

With the help of long-time friends, she acquired a fake name and identity. They even arranged a residence for her from their savings.

“You’re coming back, aren’t you?

“Just for my father’s funeral”

“Well, murdering him would be troublesome”

Putting aside meaningless words, a year after leaving, everything changed when her father came to find her.

“You need to return, Alaina. I’ve prepared everything so you can reclaim your position as soon as you return.”

Alaina staunchly refused. However, after he left, the once-peaceful business began to encounter difficulties.

The business partner who presented as a textile merchant meant to conceal her status, suddenly disappeared with funds. The ship carrying exotic silks and spices sank in a storm.

Investors who had promised suddenly changed their minds, and the families of the deceased sailors and loan sharks gathered, shouting in protest.

She knew it was her father’s doing. Perhaps even the seemingly smooth business she had never experienced before was his plot to bring her down.

Alaina tried to send letters to her friends and the emperor, but even that was blocked, and no response came.

She dismissed her maids and moved into a ramshackle three-room house, but things only got worse.

“If you can’t repay the money, we might as well sell the lady to the mines. That’s the only way out”

“There, if you can’t meet the quota, you’ll be whipped immediately. Someone as delicately raised as the lady won’t last ten days, you’ll die soon.”

The creditors didn’t wait for Alaina to find a way out. As soon as the promised deadline arrived, they dragged her to the mines and sold her off as a real slave.

And Alaina had to face a completely new world.

People with skin exposed from being whipped instead of being properly washed. Stale bread and soup with worms. Supervisors pound the floor with a large whip, threateningly.

A dirty world smelled and made her nauseous.

Long hair that had been grown with care was cut haphazardly. The daughter of a Marquis, and once the future empress, Alaina’s ankles were weighed down by heavy shackles.

Hard labor, dirty rags, powerless people, cold, and hunger. Nothing but despair, making it difficult to believe that this was reality.

But the sight of those who were whipped because they couldn’t meet their quota was the immediate reality in front of her.

The slaves screamed like animals. Alaina, who couldn’t even fill half of her quota, had an intuition that she would soon share their fate.

Then, as she hunched her body like the other slaves when a supervisor raised his hand threateningly, a familiar voice reached her ears.

“You still have no intention of returning?

Alaina lifted her head at the voice she knew too well.

Before she stood her well-dressed father. From head to toe, he was the complete opposite of her, who was covered in dirt.

Yeah, I knew you would come.

Alaina couldn’t help but smirk when her vague premonition proved to be true.

The partner’s escape, the sudden sinking of the ship, the change of heart by investors, and the relentless creditors who didn’t give her a single extension.

And her cunning father said to her:

“I have already prepared a place for you. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to live at the bottom or the top”

Isaac Salvatore, confident that Alaina would return, was exuberant.

It went just as he expected. From the moment her father found her, her defeat was predetermined.

So how could she not hate him?

Alaina fought to keep the strength in her eyes. Now was not the time to show weakness. It was time to endure, observe, and seize the opportunity.

***

The news that the empress disappeared came the next day.

Leonard, who had intended to request an audience for Tenere, involuntarily stood up at the unexpected news.

“What’s going on?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. It’s just that… both of them haven’t been seen since yesterday.”

“They haven’t been seen since yesterday, and you’re reporting it now?”

“I apologize.”

Assistant Delus Cyan, sensing the heightened tone, scratched his head in uncertainty.

Leonard took a deep breath and calmed himself before speaking again.

“…Report in detail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. After yesterday’s lunch, both of them said they had things to do… They instructed not to let anyone enter the room until they were called. I went in today just in case, but…”

“There are servants in the mansion. Wasn’t anyone assigned to prepare dinner?”

“Yes. They said both of them weren’t feeling well, so they decided not to eat anything. It seems that, given a recent incident with a maid, the servants are trying not to disturb them.”

Delus stammered as if it were somehow his fault that he hadn’t seen to Tenere’s meals.

Leonard wiped his face with one hand.

It was completely incomprehensible. Didn’t she ask for an audience with him just yesterday? He was planning to send someone to meet her tomorrow, so why would she run away in the meantime?

“Did you send someone to trace them?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We are tracking their movements.”

Leonard sat back in his chair. Delus cautiously observed his sinking figure.

“Has there been any suspicious activity?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Both of them were behaving quite excessively in the mansion…”

“Maybe they were considering escape from the beginning.”

Perhaps refusing the empress was a sign that he was no longer interested in her. 

I told her to make herself at home, and if she needed anything, she’d tell me.

‘I loved you, Your Majesty.’

The memory of a graceful face suddenly came to mind, and Leonard’s expression subtly distorted.

He wanted to get rid of the lingering feelings, yet she decided to leave altogether. Was it because she resented not having her feelings accepted?

“What happened to the maid?”

“Since then, she has been confined to an empty room and hasn’t been given a drop of water for two days. No one knows the reason, but she was appointed as the empress’s exclusive maid after she returned to the mansion… We speculate that it might be related to theft.”

“Isn’t that too severe for such a reason?”

It was not unheard of for a noble’s exclusive servant to steal their master’s belongings. Especially when there was no deep bond between the master and servant.

However, the Tenere that Leonard knew was not someone who would punish a maid for such an act. She was not greedy, and if she were to be sent away from the mansion, she would be sent away. There was no reason to confine her to a room and starve her.

“It’s an order from the Marquis, not the empress. He dragged the maid out of the empress’s room…”

“She would have stopped it.”

“She did not.”

It was still a strange story. Tenere had never punished the maids during the four years she spent in the palace.

There was a time when she prevented the punishment of a maid who had done something wrong. Why would the maid be punished now?

“Inquire about the maid.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then, what about the empress…”

“The imperial knights should not waste time chasing after the empress. After chasing them for a while and you are not able to still find them, let them go. There shouldn’t be any danger if they left with the Marquis.”

Whether she remarried another man or moved residence was none of his business now.

No, I had told her to get a consort when she was in the palace in the first place

So, it would be best if they no longer cared about each other.

No more lingering over a scent that had faded.