For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 20

A few days later, a new wet nurse was assigned to Riel. Aura walked with Riel to the main palace gate to see her off. Riel gestured to Aura from the gate. “What is it?”

Aura crouched down to meet Riel at eye level. Riel suddenly kissed Aura on the cheek. “I’m going to become as noble as you, Empress.”

Aura was surprised in three ways. First, that the aloof Riel would kiss her. Second, that she would call her “Empress.” And third, that she would call her “noble.” Of course, the third reason surprised her the most.

“I’m noble?”

“Uncle said so in his office the other day. He said you were noble, Empress.”

‘Karl did?’

She wondered why he would say that. As far as she could remember, he had only said that she was noble once: when they reunited in the audience chamber after three years.

‘That’s why I need a noble woman like you, Aura.’

‘Maybe he meant “true-blood.”’

She didn’t want to think about it too much. Thinking about him only made her sad.

“I’ll come visit often!” Riel ran happily to her new wet nurse. Aura and Mina waved to Riel.

In the afternoon, the person Aura had been waiting for arrived: Mina’s younger brother, Jose. He was a tall, thin boy. Like his sister, he had orange hair and many freckles. He was extremely nervous as he sat across from Aura in the lounge.

“Is the Imperial Academy a good place to study?”

“Y-Yes. Of course. Thanks to Your Majesty the Empress, I am able to study without any worries.”

A moment later, Mina placed tea on the table and looked at her brother. When Aura gestured for him to drink, Jose picked up the teacup with a trembling hand. Mina, ever so observant, took the other maids and left the lounge.

“Jose. I asked you to find out a few things for me, didn’t I?”

Jose quickly answered, “You mean about the Pin? I found some things out.”

“You don’t have a bag or paper. Did you memorize it?”

“Ah, yes. I did.”

Aura was impressed. He was a bright student, just as Mina had said. Jose cleared his throat.

“First, the Pin is a crystal ball that can seal something. The sealing magic was created in Silesia.”

Silesia. It was a duchy beyond Sutra. It was a duchy in name only, a place famous for its constant power struggles between barbarians and nomads. The ruling family changed so often that it had almost no contact with other countries.

“How did you find out this information?”

“There are a few books on Silesia magic at the Imperial Academy. Only one of them mentioned the Pin. I also heard from an old professor who traveled to Silesia for magic research when he was young.”

“I see… Then how do you break the seal?”

“Ah, well… it’s different for every Pin.”

“What do you mean?”

“It depends on what the magician who created the seal put on it. And it can only be broken by that specific method.”

“Not even with a higher-level magic than the Pin?”

“No. The Pin prevents the seal from being broken by higher-level magic. Silesia magic is known for being nasty.”

Her heart ached. The magic of the people of Zenia was trapped by a nasty magic.

“Jose. What about a magician named Julius?”

“Oh, yes. I found out about him. He was one of the authors of the Silesia magic books I mentioned. He was quite famous, having published a book in Kasa.”

“I see. I’d like to meet him.”

“Ah, well… Julius is dead. He passed away about a year ago from old age.”

Aura was speechless for a moment. She had finally found a magician, and he was dead.

“Then… can only the magician who sealed the Pin break the seal?”

“No. Anyone can break the seal as long as they know the right method.”

That was a relief. Jose looked at Aura and added, “But if Julius was the one who made the Pin… it might be difficult to break it.”

“Why do you think so?”

“From what I found out, he wasn’t a very good magician. They say he even developed magic that hurt people just for his own benefit.”

‘That makes sense. He must have been that kind of person to side with the Crown Prince.’

Aura stared at Jose. This lanky boy was more useful than she had thought. She took off the ring on her finger and offered it to him. Jose’s eyes widened.

“Jose, I have a more confidential request for you.”

“Ah…! Yes, Your Highness.”

“Three years ago, Julius made a Pin and sealed something in it.” This was a heavy subject for a nineteen-year-old boy. But Aura decided to have faith in him, especially when it came to breaking the seal.

“Your task from now on is to investigate Julius’s traces, from three years ago until the time of his death. Look through all his research and documents and find out how to break the seal. Do you understand?”

Jose slowly nodded. Aura placed the ring in his hand. “If you succeed… I’ll help you stay at the Imperial Academy.”

“…Pardon?”

Aura just smiled instead of answering. Jose immediately understood the meaning of her words. Staying at the academy meant becoming a researcher or a professor.

“I-I’ll do my best!”

“I expect you will.”

Jose left the room, still a little dazed. Aura thought about a few things as she emptied her teacup. ‘I sent Riel back to the separate palace, and I met Jose. Even though I have to wait to find out how to break the seal, I have to find out where the Pin is first.’

That left her with only one choice. Isen Kasa.

‘From now on, if you contact Isen, I’ll assume it’s one of two reasons. Either you’re helping me, or you’re helping Isen’s rebellion.’

That night, Aura had a lot to think about. It was hard to suppress the grief for her dead family. But once the grief passed, the answer was simple.

Aura wasn’t afraid of being labeled a traitor or of dying. If she was, she wouldn’t have come this far. ‘Of course, I’m not just going to be a traitor without a fight.’

Aura got up and went to her desk. She wrote a short letter to Isen.

To the Prince,

The weather is lovely. Shall we go for a picnic tomorrow?

She knew that the moment this letter reached Isen, Karl would be informed. He would know that Aura had sought out Isen after all.

The next day at noon, Aura left the main palace. It was the beginning of spring, so the weather was still a little chilly. But the sky was clear, perfect for a picnic.

Aura looked up at the sky and then turned, feeling eyes on her. She saw Karl walking with his ministers in the distance. ‘The council meeting must be over.’ Karl’s expression hardened when he saw Aura. Her bright dress and hat, the books in her hand, and Mina carrying a picnic basket… he looked at all of it, one by one. After a long moment, Karl looked away, as if to say, ‘Go on and do it.’

After Karl went into the main palace, Aura headed to the East Forest, their meeting place. The forest with a pond was a popular spot for the royals. Isen was already sitting by the pond, waiting.

“Prince.”

“Sister-in-law! You’ve come.”

The two of them had a picnic. They shared the sandwiches they had prepared and talked about Isen’s travels.

“By the way, Riel was so insistent on coming to the picnic. It was hard to leave her behind.”

“Riel must like you very much.”

“Well, I took care of her a lot when she was a child. It was so fascinating to see how much she grew every time I visited the palace during my travels. I have a soft spot for her.”

‘A traitor who can’t even say no to a child’s tantrum…’

No matter how she looked at it, Isen wasn’t the type to lead a rebellion. It must be someone behind him, pulling the strings.

She didn’t want to break the peaceful moment, but it was time to get to work.

“Prince. I’ve heard rumors about a concubine.” In reality, Mina had told her about the rumors of Elise becoming a concubine a few days ago.

“I’m sure you have. Duke Thane is working hard, after all.”

“What kind of person is Duke Thane? I find him to be quite vexing.”

Aura smiled. Isen immediately understood her intention. “If things go well, I’ll make sure he gets what’s coming to him.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that.”

“Have you made up your mind?” Isen seemed more anxious than he had been at the coronation.

Aura poured juice into his empty cup. “Before you ask me about my decision, tell me about your plan. Do you want to become the emperor?”

The wind blew, and the reeds by the pond rustled. Isen slowly emptied his cup and opened his mouth. “No. I know I’m not capable of that. A good territory and title would be enough for me.”

“Just a territory and a title?”

“Sister-in-law, look at me. I’m a prince in name only, without a territory. I have the blood of the royal family, but I can’t even take care of my mother properly.”

‘Just as Karl said. He must have been very hurt by not getting territory.’

“Then what will happen to the throne?”

“Someone who is qualified will take that position. You will be leaving the palace, so… you don’t need to worry about it. Knowing too much will only put you in danger.”

Was he dismissing her, or was he concerned about her? Or both? Aura just smiled in silence.

The surface of the pond rippled. Isen looked at the ripples and said, “Help me, sister-in-law. You only have to do one thing for us.”

“…I’ll hear you out. What do you want me to do?”

Isen leaned toward Aura. Even though they were alone in the forest, he lowered his voice. “I need a map of Brother Karl’s military forces.”

Aura instinctively shook her head. This was a far more dangerous request than she had expected. Just then, Isen grabbed her arm.

“Sister-in-law, the Pin is in the same place as the military map. You have to go into Brother’s personal study.”

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