Chapter Five

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Mother held me for a long time, weeping.

She called my name again and again, and caressed my cheek so much that it started becoming red.

Meeting again is a truly wonderful thing. Since it was a happy day, I resolved not to cry.

But I couldn’t do it, even though I tried.

Then, when my tears finally stopped and words could come out of my mouth again.

“How… could this be! Honey! Who is that… that lady who looks exactly like Asha?”

It was Father, who had finished his work in his office and had come out, and the same thing repeated.

At first, his eyes got wide as if he couldn’t believe what he saw, and he denied the sight for a moment before hugging me tightly to him, covering us with tears and snot.

“This father didn’t believe it! I didn’t believe it, Asha! I thought that the fact that you were dead was complete nonsense! Seriously!”

“Ugh…! Honey, you were the first to tell us we needed to accept reality!”

“That’s right, Father! Why are you pretending otherwise now?”

“A-ahem! But in my heart, I believed that there was no way that Asha was dead.”

Seeing my father shaking his head with a red face, all of us started laughing.

Although all of us had cried so much that our noses and eyes were completely red, we were happier than ever.

“But Asha… Ashella. My daughter! I’m so happy. Seriously… wah!”

Father’s silver eyes trembled before filling with tears once more.

Then, as if forgetting our laughter from just a moment ago, we all started sobbing again.

Although we wanted to stop crying, it was impossible.

Even I, who had made up my mind firmly, couldn’t control my tears.

“Stop crying, Father. Mother, too.”

“Wahhhh! Of course we will. This is such a happy day. Such a happy day, but…!”

Still in disbelief, Father was busy wiping his tears, looking up at me. Then, he continued wailing.

I think it might take a bit of time for them to calm down.

* * *

On the night that Asha and her family shared a tearful reunion. 

In the middle of the endlessly desolate palace stood Hadel, who quietly closed his eyes.

The cold winter breeze brushed his skin.

The day he had lost Ashella had been like this too.

The air had been cold and dry, ashes fluttering through the air.

“Whew…” 

An unshakeable feeling of suffocation started from deep within his heart.

His heartbeat started racing and he could feel a pounding headache starting.

Hadel’s eyelashes trembled before slowly parting.

His deep red eyes which had been hidden away were lit by the bright full moon.

It was a beautiful moon which shone a white and delicate light.

He had called her silver hair even more beautiful and luminous than the moon itself.

He had called her silver eyes even more bright and brilliant than the moon itself.

The reason he had happily left for the palace was because he wished to see what was in front of him then.

Because he thought that he would finally be able to see Asha’s face.

But he had not been able to see it for even a single moment and had instead sent her to her death.

Although he had searched for even her portrait, it had been after the entire residence had burned down, leaving nothing but ashes.

He couldn’t find anything.

Not a single thing that contained a trace of her.

To think that he was a husband who didn’t even know the face of his beloved wife. How funny.

Hadel, whose voice was once choked up and teary, started laughing his head off.

“Your Majesty, the air is still cold.”

After he had laughed for a long time, his attendant Derrell, who had been watching him quietly, came forward.

The Emperor stopped his laughter, before glaring at the moon and turning back.

“Let’s go in.”

Hadel, who had been approaching his bedroom, suddenly froze in his steps.

“…”

“Your Majesty. I have come as called.”

A lady with the silver hair and silver eyes that he had missed so badly, was kneeling modestly inside his bedroom.

“I heard that Your Majesty was having trouble sleeping, so I came. I will help you.”

The woman smiled seductively at him.

Without moving an inch, the Emperor laughed mockingly.

“You were called?”

The Emperor’s red eyes slowly scanned the woman.

Shiny silver hair and brilliant silver eyes.

That he had always imagined. That he had always missed, but could never even create the image of.

My woman. My wife. My Asha.

“You were called?”

The Emperor, approaching the woman, slowly held out his hand.

And right when his hand passed her collarbone, stopped near her neck, and was about to roughly grab it—

“Your Majesty?”

At the voice that came out of the woman’s mouth, the Emperor’s face crumpled up.

Retrieving the hand that could not complete his task, he turned away.

“Get rid of this.”

Asha was dead.

But he, who still couldn’t kill or even hurt those who had her color, found himself so pathetic.

* * *

“So… you’re saying all of this happened because I suddenly went missing?”

My voice trembled. Even my hands shook.

This made no sense.

My family wore faces of resignation, nodding their heads with concern.

“Asha, the situation rapidly worsened after you fell from the cliff, leaving only a necklace behind. All of the nobles conspired to say that you committed suicide in order to hide evidence of treason.”

Although my father spoke as if it no longer affected him, I was completely dumbfounded hearing this for the first time.

“Just who… why would they make such false accusations?!”

“We still haven’t figured that out for sure.”

My jaw dropped. I did what? I did what in order to hide evidence?

“That makes no sense. I was heading as planned to the palace to meet Hadel when there was an accident. I hadn’t heard about any kind of evidence in the first place!”

“Yes, of course. It was all a set-up, Asha.”

“After the carriage toppled over… I barely got out, and I found myself in an unfamiliar place. All of a sudden, the bandits…!”

Pausing, I closed my eyes and calmed my breathing.

Thinking back at what had happened then, I started sweating all over again.

I was so scared.

I thought I would die right there, and in the end I only survived by chance.

The guards who had sworn to protect me disappeared and I escaped through the mountains for some time.

“Whew. In any case, what about Hadel? Are you saying he didn’t protect our family, then?”

They were still his in-laws in name. And they were his wife’s family! We had all lived together before then.

I almost would have suspected, as would have been logical, that after he became the Emperor, he would forget his previous wife and find himself a better woman.

That is, if I hadn’t known Hadel so well.

“Hadel would never do that. He would never throw us away.”

“…Yes, you’re right. His Majesty protected us, of course.”

“So why couldn’t we escape from the false accusations of treachery?”

“Because there was no evidence.”

“But! I thought you said they claimed I had died with all of the evidence!”

“Although you cannot convict someone of a crime without evidence, you also can’t prove them as innocent.”

At my father’s calm response, I was at a loss.

“Although we protested strongly and His Majesty tried to protect us… He wasn’t in the right mind at the time.”

“What…?”

“It’s because he thought you died, Asha. His Majesty was the one who kept looking for you until the end.”

My heart started thumping crazily in my chest.

There was nothing I could do about my racing heartbeat, even though I had already been prepared to hear about Hadel and my death.

“It was His Majesty himself who found your necklace within the ashes.”

Ah. Hadel.

How much pain were you in?

If I were you, I might have given up my life already.

“His Majesty was not in his right mind. Yet he still sought to help us get rid of the dishonorable label of traitors given to our family. But this was a trap that many aristocrats had meticulously prepared in advance. We… couldn’t escape it.”

“Then how are you…”

How have you lived as a viscount?

Although I tried to swallow my question, Father grasped my thoughts easily and replied.

“His Majesty made it so. He continuously argued that there was no way to be sure without evidence. And given that we had taken His Majesty in and raised him ourselves, the trial ended with our demotion to the rank of a viscount and assignment of land in the south.”

Tears filled my eyes once more.

For nobles, becoming a family of traitors was a greater disgrace than death — even if the crime wasn’t certain.

But exactly that happened to my family during my absence, and they were still living through the aftermath.

“I need to meet Hadel.”

“Asha. Unfortunately, that is impossible right now.”

“…Why? Aren’t you at least able to contact the Emperor?”

“Haa… We might as well be banished right now, you see.”

Now what’s this about?

“All of the South is ruled by Duke Valkirino. If we want to send something to the Emperor, it must be inspected by the Duchy. That was the price of postponing our punishment for treachery. But the Valkirinos…”

“I see. So they’re blocking our letters from going anywhere.”

“Correct. Even a note needs to have its contents vetted first.”

“How unreasonable!”

I could feel rage swelling in my chest. This kind of treatment should not and could not be happening to nobles.

It was at the moment when I had stood up out of anger.

Knock knock-

“Viscount. Her Ladyship Nella Valkirino has arrived.”

A silence fell among the room. Nobody dared open their mouths first.

Only a few seconds passed.

And, although there had been no response from my father telling her to come in, the door opened and a doll-like girl entered.

“Excuse me, as this is urgent business. I have something to talk to Miss Ariana about. Would you call… hm?”

Nella, who had entered the office while flicking her long purple hair behind her, looked at us suspiciously as she saw our entire family gathered in the office.

With sharp purple eyes, she scanned her surroundings. Finally, she let out a breath after making eye contact with me.

“What the. There’s a treasure that matches the conditions right here.”

Ignoring everyone else, she smiled and approached me.

Then, without hesitation, she reached out a hand and touched my silver hair.

“Such a beautiful silver color. And even your eyes! You’re perfect, aren’t you?”

“What kind of rude actions are these, My Ladyship!”

Although my father stood up suddenly, Nella didn’t pay attention, giving a sickly sweet laugh.

“Who are you? No, no. It doesn’t matter who you are. You’re a maid or something, right?”

Grabbing my chin, Nella turned my head from side to side and inspected me carefully.

Then, she smiled brightly and opened her mouth.

“You. Become the Emperor’s Queen.”

Huh? What?

By Emperor, do you mean my husband Hadel?

With an indescribable feeling, I could only blink my eyes.

“I think I need an explanation.”

And hey. I’m already married to him.

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