Chapter 123
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Senz Rossi made a face as if he’d swallowed a fly when ordered to bring a servant, but upon hearing that the Commander had specifically requested the “black-haired” servant, he snorted derisively.
“He has such peculiar tastes. If it were me, I’d naturally have picked the young one.”
Diana felt like slapping the man’s vile mouth. At the same time, she grew extremely anxious.
To come directly to the Commander’s office? Does that mean he intends to meet privately with a mere servant? Why?
“It would have been quite a predicament if the Commander shared my tastes. Don’t you agree, Lian?”
“I find it hard to guess why you’re saying that. Isn’t it good to build intimacy and a bond when you share common interests with your superior?”
“Shared interests can also fuel a competitive spirit. Men are just that sort of breed, after all.”
It was truly a sickening answer. Diana suppressed the urge to immediately drag Elliot into the next room and hide.
But once again, her own situation was the bigger problem. Soldiers sent to escort Diana to the Commander’s office were already waiting at the door.
“Well, you’d be sad if your brother were to meet a nasty end. I’ll put in a request that they don’t kill him. After all, I am a Rossi. I’m one of the wealthiest people in Karman. I’m not the type to bow down to some Commander who fell out of the sky, you know.”
Senz Rossi stroked Elliott’s head. Even in her anxiety, Diana had to suppress the urge to snap that wrist right then and there. Elliott, however, simply answered meekly like a well-behaved child.
“That’s right. Let is all I have. If it weren’t for him, I’d have no reason to be here.”
“ Hmph, what a touching display of brotherly love.”
“Of course, I haven’t forgotten that it was thanks to you, Lord Senz, that I was able to enter here. Someday, I’ll have the chance to repay you.”
As soon as Senz Rossi showed his displeasure, Elliot added. He wondered if he was saying that knowing something, or if he’s actually harboring a sly fox that’s been lurking in his heart for decades.
Having easily soothed Senz’s bad mood, Elliot smiled faintly and waved his hand.
“Have a safe trip, Brother Let.”
“…Right. I’ll be back, my lord.”
Senz waved half-heartedly, as if to tell him to disappear immediately.
Diana was surrounded by soldiers and headed somewhere. She had hoped they might be going to the audience chamber from yesterday, but she was wrong.
Since things had turned out this way anyway, Diana decided to take a look around the royal palace where her parents had once lived.
‘From the windows on this side of the corridor, you can see the training grounds below. There’s a garden beneath the windows on the other side… I suppose that door leads to the royal library.’
The faces of her parents, whom she had last seen thirteen years ago, now remained only as faint outlines in her memory. Diana reflected on the love story of her mother and father that she had heard from Ianna, imagining the couple who had once ruled the kingdom together from this very place.
In any case, since she had ended up working at the royal palace after all the twists and turns, there would surely be another opportunity to carefully examine this place that her mother and father had so lovingly tended. Provided it wouldn’t catch the Commander’s eye.
‘What kind of person is the Commander-in-Chief?’
A face like a mask bathed in moonlight came to mind. The shadows on his face seemed particularly deep and intense.
I’m curious about that face. I wonder what it would be like to see it up close, rather than from a distance. Could he be someone I might be able to win over to my side?
As they reached the door to the Commander’s office, the knight who had guided Diana knocked.
“Commander. I have brought the servant.”
“Come in.”
Diana hesitated. It was the voice she had heard yesterday. It belonged to the man said to be the Deputy Commander, one who possessed the distinctive aura of the Emperor’s personal bodyguards.
But hadn’t it been clearly stated that this was a summons from the Commander-in-Chief?
The door, which had aroused her suspicion, swung wide open. The scent trapped inside burst out as if released from its seal. Beneath the smell of old paper and aged furniture lay a faint scent of blood.
The smell of old blood… Goosebumps prickled the back of Diana’s neck. It was similar to the very scent that had permeated the Karman Palace.
There were two people in the Commander’s office. Standing at the desk in front of the large window directly opposite the door was a tall knight, while another man sat on the sofa.
The man at the desk was the one who had been called the Deputy Commander yesterday. Diana curtsied a bow second too late.
“I am Let, a servant of Lord Senz Rossi. I have come at your summons.”
Though she maintained her composure, Diana’s gaze was fixed on the sofa.
There sat a man who defied belief.
A gasp of awe escaped her involuntarily. She couldn’t help it.
The man with black hair had blue eyes. Yes. It was the same man she had seen last night in the Throne Room. Diana glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and found herself at a loss for words.
How could such a person even exist?
In the bright light, the eyes she met again were a deep blue. The color of the deep ocean, a night sky tinged with twilight, or a lustrous lapis lazuli. They were eyes imbued with a power that could instantly transform even the sun-drenched midday into the heavy darkness of night.
Rather than sitting on the sofa, he was leaning back against the backrest; despite his slouching posture, he exuded an air of noble dignity. His tall stature and sturdy build made the ordinary sofa look cramped, evoking the image of a wild beast.
Yet at the same time, he was extremely refined. A beauty as flawless and solid as a fortress. He was a man who seemed as though he could be carved from eternal ice—a man whom no words or actions could ever scratch.
Such an overwhelming aura wasn’t something that could be cultivated through effort. He possessed the unique spirit of those who had naturally reigned at the pinnacle of the world since birth.
No matter where you looked, that man was the master of this space. Diana didn’t know why he had given his desk to the Deputy Commander and was sitting on the sofa, but her intuition told her so.
The blue-eyed Commander-in-Chief stared intently at Diana, as if expecting her to react in some way.
Confused, Diana stared back blankly. Since she didn’t know his intentions, she didn’t know how to respond.
As Diana’s bewildered silence continued, the man raised his eyebrows. His expression was one of deep displeasure. Only then did Diana realize she hadn’t greeted the Commander-in-Chief, and she quickly bowed. But when she looked up, the man’s expression was even more icy than before.
Then, the first question was directed at Diana. It wasn’t from the sofa, but from directly in front of her.
“Let—is that your only name?”
She snapped back to her senses. Diana quickly straightened her posture toward the Deputy Commander.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“You’re an Ormance refugee. Where in Ormance were you born?”
“I was born and raised in Elzeira, in the southwest.”
Diana recited the information she had memorized while creating her fake ID. Since the spirits still hadn’t returned, she had to speak while scratching her throat uncomfortably.
“What is your relationship with Lord Senz Rossi? Is it close enough that he gave you the pass?”
“He is my brother’s and my employer. We haven’t been working for him very long. We recently moved here from Dortes…”
“Why were you wandering around inside the royal palace?”
“Well, I got lost. I didn’t realize until it was too late that it was the audience chamber of the old kingdom… I swear, I wasn’t trying to spy on anyone.”
The Deputy Commander jotted down Diana’s words roughly on the paperwork. He didn’t seem particularly interested in Diana’s whereabouts or the commotion from the night before. The Deputy Commander’s attention was entirely focused on the man on the sofa. His shoulders were just as stiff as Diana’s.
“I see. From now on, don’t wander around the palace and go into restricted areas. You may go now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Diana let out a sigh of relief and stood up. It was just as she was looking at him, trying to memorize the Deputy Commander’s face.
Clang! A loud noise erupted from her right.
Something made of glass or porcelain had shattered into pieces. Startled, Diana turned to her right.
A teacup that had bounced off the table clattered to the floor at the man’s feet. He had dropped it on the floor. Red tea soaked his slender fingers and dripped down.
The man didn’t look like the type to make such a trivial mistake. Even though the tea must have been scalding, he stared at Diana without batting an eye.
Looking again, she noticed a subtle unnaturalness in the movement of his right hand. Diana hesitated for a moment.
Her status here was that of a servant. In other words, she was the only one here to attend to him.
And he knew that fact as well.
Whether the steaming tea soaked his wrist and thighs or not, his blue eyes were fixed on Diana. It was a silent command to come closer.
“…I’ll help you.”
Diana swallowed hard and approached him.
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