For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 17

Josh opened the door. Aura stepped into the office, quickly scanning the room. The spacious office felt like a forest of documents. Karl was probably stuck with all the work the late Crown Prince had neglected to do.

There were two doors on either side of the room. ‘One must be the bedroom, and the other must be Karl’s private study.’ It wouldn’t be strange for the Pin to be in any of them—the bedroom, the office, or the private study. But after a quick scan of the office, she didn’t see anything that looked like a crystal ball.

The office was a mess. Tasha was sobbing on the floor. ‘She was only locked up for an hour. Anyone would think she was being tortured.’

Aura walked over to Karl, who was sitting at his desk looking through documents. “Why did you call me here?”

“Aura, can you explain this situation?” Karl asked, signing a document. His furrowed brows showed how annoyed he was.

Anyone could see that she had been harassing the woman who had raised her husband. A typical wife would have complained about the injustice or burst into tears. But Aura had decided not to.

“Do you need an explanation from me? It looks like Tasha has already told you everything.”

“You have nothing to say?”

“I have the power to lock Tasha up, so I did. That’s all.”

Karl finally looked up at Aura. Tasha also stopped crying, her eyes wide with shock, and stared at Aura. But then…

“Hic…” she started to cry again.

“Haa…” Karl ran a hand through his hair, looking tired. Aura smirked to herself. ‘How pitiful. He’s stuck in the middle of a women’s fight.’

“Aura, is that really all you have to say? That you’re using your power to be a bully?”

“Hic… Your Majesty…” Tasha called out to Karl pitifully, as if she was begging him to punish Aura.

“Alright. If you have no intention of making excuses, then I have no choice. Do not be reckless with your subordinates. It’s the same as telling me that I can be reckless with you.”

“I’m not your subordinate, Karl.”

“That’s what your ‘power structure’ says.” Aura leaned on Karl’s desk. “So, should I go to the dungeon now?”

Aura’s shadow fell across Karl’s documents. He stood up to get away from her.

“Stay in your room for a while. And Wet Nurse, you will take a break from caring for Riel.”

“Oh… no, Your Majesty. I can’t leave Princess Riel alone.”

“Ah, caring for Riel.” Aura said. “I saw her earlier. You look like you’re having a hard time keeping up with such a lively child.”

“That’s not true, Empress,” Tasha said, stopping her crying. She clearly didn’t want to let Riel go.

Karl put an end to the conversation. “Empress, confinement. Wet Nurse, break. I won’t say it a third time.” Tasha tried to say something, but she closed her mouth and bowed. “I apologize for the disturbance, Your Majesty.”

After Tasha left the office, Karl sighed. He looked exhausted, as if he had been struggling with a heavy workload. Josh’s words about his insomnia seemed to be true.

“You go too, Aura. I need to rest.” Karl walked to the right and opened a small door.

Aura quickly followed him. A large, neatly organized bedroom was revealed. ‘So this is the bedroom. The study must be on the other side.’ It felt strange to be in someone else’s room. It felt like she was trespassing.

Karl took off his tie. “Why did you follow me? Did you decide you want to make excuses after all?”

“I didn’t come here to make excuses.” Aura closed the small door behind her, just in case someone was listening.

Karl tilted his head to the side and slowly unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. “Then why?”

Instead of answering, Aura took out a few sheets of paper from her sleeve and held them out to him. “I found these in Tasha’s room.”

“You even searched her room? How unbelievable.”

Karl took the papers and opened them without a thought. His face slowly hardened. It was a promissory note showing that Tasha had been consistently sending money to someone for years. Aura spoke. “I saw those names in the newspaper this morning. They’re the leaders of the pure-blood supremacist group.”

Karl threw the promissory note on the table. “I’ll deal with this. I wondered how the protestors managed to get into the chapel… I had a feeling, but it was that woman after all.”

That woman. Karl called Tasha that. As if she was a person he had no emotional connection to.

That’s what confused Aura even more. At a time when he needed the people’s trust more than ever, would Karl really have killed those leaders?

“Those men… they’ve gone missing.”

“I saw that in the newspaper too.”

“Did you do it?”

Karl unbuttoned the top button of his shirt in front of the mirror. “I didn’t kill them. I just made sure they would never be able to come back to the capital again.”

Then why was he so angry? Aura was about to ask, but she stopped. It was a crime against the throne, so the death penalty would have been justified.

Karl rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. His thick forearms were revealed. Every time Aura saw his body like this, she was reminded of the fact that he was a warrior. Even though he was wearing a white shirt and looking at documents now, she felt that he would draw his sword and mercilessly cut someone down if he wanted to.

“Riel is in your room, isn’t she? Send her back to the separate palace.”

“Will you assign a new wet nurse?”

“No. I was planning on sending her to a boarding school in the countryside. Tasha was a temporary solution.”

“What? Don’t do that.”

“It’s better for Riel. Did you forget? I killed her father.”

“Even so.” Aura grabbed Karl’s wrist. “Not now. Wait until she’s a little older.”

Karl stared at Aura’s hand on his wrist. “Is there a reason why I shouldn’t send her away?”

“Riel is a smart girl. If you send her away now, she’ll think she’s being cast out. You have to give her a proper princess’s education and let her leave when she wants to. Even if it’s for an arranged marriage.”

“…”

“The education she gets here will protect her for the rest of her life.”

Karl raised his head and looked at Aura. “Is that a request?”

Aura didn’t know if he would grant her request or if he was hinting that she would have to give something in return. But she had a plan.

“How about this? You seem to have a lot of work in your office. I’ll help you.”

“You’ll work for the Kasa royal family?”

“I’m the empress. You didn’t expect me to do nothing, did you?”

Karl was silent. Maybe he really intended for her to just sit there and look pretty. Aura was baffled. She added another comment.

“I bet I can do a better job than you.”

“What?” Karl let out a short, incredulous laugh. He took Aura’s hand, which was still holding his wrist, and removed it.

“Alright. Do that.”

Aura let out a sigh of relief. This was a win-win situation. She would not only be helping Riel, but she would also have an excuse to go to Karl’s office.

Aura rubbed the back of her hand where Karl had touched it and took a step back. “Alright. You get some rest.”

The moment Aura opened the small door, Karl came up behind her and closed it. Aura could feel his presence and tried to sound calm. “…Is there anything else you want to say?”

Karl’s hand came up and rested on her shoulder. Aura’s eyes widened.

“Josh told me Tasha insulted you.”

“You have a loud-mouthed subordinate.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Karl’s face showed genuine curiosity.

“If I had?”

“…”

“Would you have not dismissed it as whining?”

Aura flung the door open and left. Bang! The small door slammed shut. Karl’s hand, which had been on her shoulder, was left hanging in the air. After a while, it dropped to his side.

“Ah.” He turned away with a bitter expression. He was about to change into more comfortable clothes, but instead, he threw himself onto the bed. “…”

Her touch still lingered on his wrist. Her fingernails were still damaged from her time in confinement. But he couldn’t take his eyes off her beautiful hands and her straight fingers.

Aura was a fascinating woman. In the office, she had been a force of nature. She didn’t care what anyone thought and was uncompromising. Even when facing the emperor of the empire. As she had said, it was as if she had fallen to the abyss. But in the bedroom, she had acted like a saint. She was worried that he had killed people, and she was concerned about the daughter of the Crown Prince who had destroyed her country.

‘Even if it’s for an arranged marriage, the education she gets here will protect her for the rest of her life.’

She was clearly seeing herself in Riel, even though she didn’t seem to realize it. How else could she be so worried about an arranged marriage for a seven-year-old?

Which was the real Aura? The uncompromising one or the saint? Or was she both? Karl thought it was a useless question. ‘No matter what she is, she’s Aura.’ And he couldn’t stop thinking about her. That was the only thing he knew for sure.

A moment later, Karl sat up. He looked at the promissory note on the table. He opened the small door and re-entered the office. Theo, who had come in at some point, stood up from his seat.

“Your Majesty, I heard there was some commotion. Are you alright?” Josh had told Theo what happened. Karl nodded, as if to say he was fine.

“Theo.”

“Yes.”

“Go get Tasha. Now.” A vein was throbbing on his exposed forearm.

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