MAWBF 3

Chapter 3

***

Carla hadn't been able to sit still since earlier. Finally, Reina spoke up to Carla, who kept darting in and out of her line of sight.

"You're so restless, Carla."

Unlike Carla, who had been trembling with anxiety for days, Reina remained perfectly calm.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"You'll startle the baby in there."

"Ah..."

Carla absentmindedly wrapped her arms around her lower abdomen, which didn't yet show much of a baby bump, gave an awkward smile, and then quietly moved to sit beside Reina.

Reina offered a faint smile.

“I felt bad that you had to be separated from your husband and stay in Elmaril because of me. It’s good that you can return to Caldillac now.”

It was a joke that didn’t quite feel like one, and Carla couldn’t laugh.

"...It's fine."

"We should hurry. Before your belly gets any bigger."

Yet, Reina had been strangely vibrant lately. Carla wondered if this was really okay, but seeing Reina looking so suddenly energetic, it all seemed fine.

That didn't mean her worries completely vanished.

“…I’m afraid His Grace will be angry with Your Majesty.”

Carla feared the Duke’s wrath.

Ever since she and Reina had snuck outside the inner palace walls at fifteen, when they were still foolish, and received a severe scolding, the Duke had been the most terrifying person in the world to her.

Reina nodded lightly.

“Yes, he’ll probably be very angry.”

"...Are you truly sure you won't regret this? If you speak to His Majesty now, perhaps it might not reach the Duke's ears."

"No, I will leave this place."

"Your Majesty..."

Faced with Reina's resolute answer, Carla could say no more. Reina gave Carla a faint, weary smile, as if apologetic.

Even Reina knew it was irresponsible to ask the King to be deposed without consulting her father and then return to Caldillac on a whim.

But unless she acted this stubbornly, she would never be able to return to her homeland.

"Father will eventually give in and accept me."

Even as she said this, Reina herself wasn't entirely certain.

The Duke cherished his daughter. Everyone agreed he seemed especially devoted to her, pitying her for losing her mother at birth.

Yet his gaze had clearly changed when he saw his daughter, childless and struggling to find her footing in the capital. During his last visit to Elmaril, he hadn't even tried to see her.

Still, as Reina remembered, her father had always granted her every wish. So when trouble arose, she instinctively sought out Dazbel.

"Because I am Dazbel."

Though she had married Elijah Wills, she still considered herself Dazbel.

Therefore, she believed her father, at least, would never betray her.

***

The Queen demanded her dethronement, but the King showed no particular reaction afterward.

It was exactly the response Reina had anticipated. Her husband was a man who wouldn't bat an eye even if his wife collapsed before his eyes.

Reina, numb to his indifference, remained composed.

"The King is truly cruel. How could he be so heartless to the Queen?"

She felt it was enough that Carla was there to tirelessly express anger on her behalf.

Truthfully, around that time, Reina could think only of returning to Caldillac, where she was cherished by those who cared for her, instead of her indifferent husband.

"Did you deliver the message?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Nothing else?"

"...No."

Even when the Queen informed him she would leave the castle tomorrow, the King remained silent. This too was as expected.

"Yes, tomorrow is finally here."

As if to avoid distracting thoughts, Reina deliberately moved with increased busyness.

There wasn't much to pack. Five years. It was a long time to stay in one place, yet she felt no attachment.

The next day, in the early hours just after sunrise. Reina stepped out of her room, a cloak draped over her shoulders. She felt a slight tension, but her steps were light. This was despite the long journey of over half a month that awaited her.

And so, finally, the wheels of the carriage she rode in began to turn.

This marked the end of her miserable life.

In that moment, sorrow and joy, despair and hope raged simultaneously. Memories of the past five years flashed rapidly through her mind, from the first time she met Elijah and fell in love. The image of the young man, his neck flushed red, smiling shyly, crossed with the king's face, hard with horror and contempt.

Half-dazed, Reina gazed out the carriage window, struggling to calm her wildly pounding heart. She closed her eyes. Carla silently took her hand, as if to say it would be alright.

‘Yes, it’s alright. Everything will be alright….’

She repeated this to herself, wishing the carriage would hurry and leave the loathsome Elmaril behind.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

At first, she thought the coachman was simply waiting for the drawbridge to lower. But soon, a servant with a troubled expression approached and knocked on the carriage window.

Feeling an ominous foreboding, Reina asked.

"What is it?"

Someone was blocking the castle gate.

"Who dares to stop the Queen's carriage?"

Carla, unable to hide her shock for a moment, glanced at Reina's expression, then leaned her head out of the carriage before stopping abruptly.

"Oh, Your Majesty..."

Kingsmen in blue cloaks stood guarding the inner gate.

"Why…?"

Reina couldn't understand why Elijah’s knights were blocking her.

They showed no intention of moving aside.

Reina finally stepped down from the carriage herself. The knights simultaneously knelt on one knee, paying her their respects.

One face stood out. It was the man who always stood behind Elijah, the knight who had clearly helped her up when she collapsed before him last time.

His name was probably….

"Sir Lyman, have I already been deposed?"

When she asked if that was why they dared block her path, the King's knight Lyman merely bowed his head deeply, looking apologetic.

"How dare you block my path? You've all lost your minds..."

Just as Reina grew impatient and snapped irritably,

"You cannot leave the palace without the King's permission."

"...What?"

The King had barred her exit. Reina was bewildered.

'I'm offering to disappear as he wishes, so why on earth...?'

Wasn't it what he desired most—for the queen from the Dazbel family to vanish before his eyes?

'Even if I died right now, he wouldn't bat an eye. So why…'

She couldn't fathom what he was thinking. Truthfully, since their wedding night, she hadn't understood a single thought of his.

Whatever it was, it seemed unlikely to be a good reason.

"Please return to your chambers."

"Move aside."

Reina pushed Lyman, unable to hide her impatience. But he didn't budge an inch.

And for Reina, now extremely weakened, there was neither the mental strength nor the physical energy left to shout or make a scene.

"I will escort you to your chambers."

"......"

Reina had no choice but to turn the carriage around.

The King's knights surrounded the carriage. They ensured the Queen entered her room.

Carla pressed her ear tightly against the door, listening for any sound outside. Reina asked, her face stiff.

"Did he go?"

Carla shook her head, her face twisted in sorrow.

For some reason, the King's knights did not leave the queen's bedroom. Though the door wasn't locked from the outside, it felt like she was being held captive.

Something was terribly wrong. Reina's face grew pale with dread.

She tried questioning the King's knights guarding the door, demanding to know what was happening, but they were horribly tight-lipped.

And then, not long after, he came.

It was the first time the King had ever visited the Queen's chambers, as it was always the Queen who went to him. But the Queen and her maids had no time to register this astonishing fact.

“......”

Reina watched Elijah, holding her breath. Annoyingly, he wore that same inscrutable, expressionless face again.

His cool, piercing eyes scanned her, who still hadn't removed her cloak. An uncomfortable silence passed, and then he suddenly commanded.

“Everyone, leave.”

Reina’s eyes fluttered.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Her maids couldn’t hold out long. In an instant, the bedroom was left with only the two of them. Elijah then remained silent for another moment.

Unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure radiating from him, she instinctively took a step back.

He let out a short sigh, then stretched out his long legs, closing the distance in one swift stride.

"You always get what you want this way."

Reina's eyes widened in shock.

"What…?"

"Your father might have accepted it, but I won't."

He seemed emotionless as usual at first glance, but he was clearly angry.

Even if it was anger, it had been an incredibly long time since Elijah had reacted like this, and Reina stared up at him blankly for a moment.

"Do you think you leaving here will make me send Priscilla away from the villa?"

She soon realized he was misunderstanding something.

"It's not that. It's just that I don't want to stay here any longer."

"......"

"...I can't do this anymore."

After a brief silence, Elijah suddenly let out a hollow laugh.

"Is this Leonard’s idea?"

The sudden mention of her father's name left Reina momentarily speechless. The King seemed convinced the Queen had ulterior motives.

It wasn't unreasonable for him to think so. Truthfully, she had once used her family's prestige to dare threaten the King, all to capture her husband's attention. Though all that was ancient history now….

"Answer me, Reina. Did the Duke tell you to do this?"

Was this the karmic retribution?

"Unbecoming of a duke. What if I truly dethrone you?"

At his cold sneer, Reina took a small breath and answered.

"...The Duke doesn't know. Father would never permit me to step down."

"......"

"I... I wish to return to Caldillac."