For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 37

After a brief morning meeting, Karl got up and walked to the window.

As he squinted against the brilliant sunlight, Josh spoke up as if he had just remembered something.

“Ah, Your Majesty. There’s one more thing I’d like to mention.”

Karl, still looking out the window, replied, “Speak.”

“The construction of the watchtower on the north side of the palace is almost finished.”

Karl turned around.

“It’s finished?”

“Not finished… but it’s almost done.”

A while ago, Karl had ordered Josh to construct a watchtower. The work seemed to have been completed faster than he expected. Karl said in a calm tone, “Tear down the northern tower as soon as the construction is complete.”

“…Pardon? So suddenly?”

“Yes. We don’t need it anymore. We have a new watchtower.”

“Ah… yes. Understood.”

The northern tower was still perfectly functional for palace defense. But because the order was so firm, Josh tilted his head and left the office.

Theo, on the other hand, stood there with wide eyes.

‘Tear down the tower? What is he thinking?’

“Your… Your Majesty.”

“Oh, you’re still here. What is it?”

“Are you tearing down the northern tower for the Empress’s sake?”

“Yes. Leaving it there will only lead to bad thoughts.”

He was right. But to Theo, the reason seemed too simplistic.

“Did you… discuss this with the Empress?”

“Is that necessary?”

‘Oh dear. I need to choose my words carefully.’

To Theo, Karl was an excellent knight and lord. He was a man worth sacrificing his life for.

However, even to Theo, Karl clearly had some emotional deficiencies. The bleakness and slight arrogance that were characteristic of someone who had survived a harsh life.

Empress Aura, in contrast, was the complete opposite. She had grown up in an emotionally rich environment. It was only natural that she was much more emotionally sensitive than Karl.

‘Confinement is something I can’t even dare to speak of. It’s better to let His Majesty experience it for himself.’

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever been to the northern tower?”

“The northern tower? No.”

Theo replied as if he had expected that answer.

“Even if you plan on tearing it down, you should visit it first.”

“Why bother? We’re just going to get rid of it anyway.”

“You should at least see how the Empress spent her three years.”

Theo was worried that Karl might refuse. He liked to handle things in a direct and simple manner.

Karl was lost in thought for a while. And then, he slowly nodded.

“You’re right. I should.”

Step, step, step…

Karl was climbing the stairs of the tower. Even in the spring weather, the place was filled with cold air.

Patches of sunlight the size of a handkerchief shone on the stairs. The tower was originally used to hide and defend the palace. It was only natural that the windows were small.

‘It’s an awful place. I wonder if the room is any better.’

He climbed to the top of the tower. A rusted iron door stood in his way. Just as he was about to open the door, something hit his shoe.

Clang!

Something small and metal was embedded in the floor.

‘What is this?’

Karl sat down and moved the metal plate this way and that.

Screeeeee…

The metal plate rose up with an unpleasant sound, revealing a hole just the size of a document. He finally understood the purpose of the hole and was speechless.

It was a food slot.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Karl shoved the door open with all his might.

Bang!

The door slammed open, hitting the stone wall hard. In an instant, mice and insects scurried away into the darkness.

“…”

He frowned.

Small windows the size of a hand. Faint sunlight streamed through them. A dirty, rough blanket. That was all there was in the prison.

‘She was in a place like this for three years…?’

Still, Aura was a princess. He had thought they would have at least kept her in a humane place, considering public opinion. A place with a bed and sunlight.

He stood frozen for a moment. He glared at every part of the prison as if he had met the most vicious enemy in the world.

Who should he resent first?

The Crown Prince? No question. He wanted to dig up his corpse and cut off his head again.

His father? He had promised to keep Aura alive, hadn’t he? But this place was so terrible, it would have been no surprise if she had taken her own life. And his father had just let the Crown Prince confine Aura in a place like this?

No, the person to blame was himself.

‘How could I have been so ignorant? Why did I not think to check this place before Theo told me to?’

Creeeeak…

The door closed behind him. When Karl turned around, he saw something.

“…Hah.”

He let out a hollow laugh.

There were scratches on the solid iron door. Along with them were dark red stains that had seeped into the metal long ago.

The most terrible hell he had ever known was the Devla Glacier. Many knights had frozen to death there. That kind of death was better. The weak-minded had gone insane from the same scenery that went on for weeks. Each time, Karl had to send them to a world without pain himself.

Even that glacier seemed better than this place. At least there, Karl wasn’t alone.

‘It’s a miracle she didn’t go crazy.’

Karl finally understood. Why Aura had become so short-tempered. Why she wanted to inflict pain on others.

‘Because I fell to rock bottom.’

He understood why she had said those words to herself.

‘You, on the other hand, were in a safe place for three years.’

He understood why she had looked so devastated when he said that.

That devastation now washed over Karl. Aura’s back as she looked at this tower came to mind again. Her memories of this place were clearly eating away at her.

There was only one answer.

‘Get rid of it. As soon as possible.’

Karl left the prison.

Thud.

The iron door closed behind him.

A few days later.

Aura went to Karl’s office with a stack of documents. The servant guarding the door bowed to her.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Open the door. Is His Majesty inside?”

“No. He went out for a moment with the aide.”

‘So no one is here. This is my chance.’

Aura said to the servant, “I’ll just go in and leave these documents for him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor and Empress were already sharing the royal duties. There was no order to prevent the Empress from entering, so the servant opened the door.

Aura went inside. The office was quiet.

‘I don’t know when he’ll be back, so I have to be fast. The library will be locked, so I’ll check the office.’

She began to open the drawers in the bookshelf, one by one. No matter where she looked, she couldn’t find a crystal ball or anything like it. Next was the desk.

Dra-dra-drag.

When she opened the desk drawer, she found all sorts of things neatly organized. She was a little surprised by that and closed the drawer.

There were four drawers in total. When she opened the last one, it was filled with scribbled memo pads. Just as she was about to close the drawer, she caught a glimpse of a familiar name.

‘Julius.’

And then, she heard footsteps outside the door. Aura quickly closed the drawer and moved toward the sofa.

The door opened, and Karl walked in. He seemed to have been told by the servant that she was there and wasn’t surprised to see her. Aura calmly stood up from the sofa, even though her heart was pounding.

“Where did you go?”

“The new watchtower is finished, so I went to check on it. What brings you here?”

“Oh, this.”

Aura held out the documents to Karl. He scanned the contents.

“You want to build more wells in Ancena?”

“There’s a chronic water problem there. The money… if the royal budget is not enough, I’ll cover it. We could do the work under my name so the Kasan people’s opinion of the royal family doesn’t get worse.”

Even though she was trying to be calm, her words came out in a rush. The name “Julius” she had just seen wouldn’t leave her mind.

‘Karl knows about Pin after all.’

Karl stared at her blankly. Aura felt uneasy.

‘He didn’t notice that I went through his office, did he?’

“You sound out of breath.”

“…Huh?”

“Is someone chasing you? Why are you talking so fast?”

Karl chuckled. Aura secretly wiped the sweat from her hands on her skirt.

“…Thinking about Ancena… I just got excited.”

“I’ll take a look at it.”

Karl put the documents on his desk. He read them again, his forehead slightly furrowed as was his habit, his eyes sharp. Looking at his face, Aura suddenly realized this was the first time she had seen him since the spring ball.

“That region is so barren. Won’t wells be of limited use? It’s a bit far from Ancena, but… there’s a lake in the Suroon region. It would be better to draw water from there and store it in a reservoir.”

“It’s not that I don’t know about that method.”

Building an aqueduct or a reservoir to store water would cost a huge amount of money. It would be impossible even if Aura sold all of her jewels.

Karl put the documents back on his desk.

“Let’s build it. In the royal family’s name.”

Aura’s eyes widened. Theo’s eyes, who was standing behind them, widened even more. He quickly spoke up.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but this year’s budget won’t allow for that…”

“I’ll pay for it with my own money.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Theo, since you brought it up, prepare the relevant documents for me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Theo left the office. Meanwhile, Aura thought, ‘He’s going to pay for that with his own money?’

She knew he was rich, but she didn’t know he was that rich. And he said it so casually.

She was about to ask if he was sure about it, but then she stopped herself.

“Okay. Thank you so much. I’ll get the documents organized and submit them again.”

Aura nodded once and turned to leave the office.

She had almost reached the door when Karl walked up and stood in front of her.

“…What’s wrong?”

Karl leaned his back against the door. He then said to her, a little awkwardly, “Instead of a reservoir… I have one condition.”

Aura had expected this, but she was still nervous. She had no idea what the condition for such a large sum of money would be.

“What is it?”

“Just go on one outing with me.”

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