For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 45

Aura folded the letter and tossed it back into the box.

“It seems the Archduke sent these relief supplies out of respect for me,” she said to the porter.

“Keep moving the goods.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Empress.” Karl spoke up. “I’d like to have a word with you.”

“…Alright.”

Karl led Aura down a hill, a good distance away so no one could overhear their conversation.

“Did you know? That the Archduke sent relief supplies.”

“I saw them when we arrived in Ansena.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Aura stared at him. Though he didn’t show it outwardly, he was clearly displeased.

“It’s just relief supplies, Karl.”

“The situation is unnatural.”

“…”

“The situation in Ansena hasn’t been mentioned in any news, and it would have been difficult for news of a small region like this to reach all the way to Sutra.”

He was right. Sutra and Ansena were quite far apart, with no real connection between them. The only explanation was that Ryan had been keeping a close eye on things.

“How did Ryan know about Ansena’s situation and send these supplies? Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

“Given the letter mentions his respect for the Empress, he probably just wanted to get in the Imperial family’s good graces.”

“Or maybe he wanted to get in your good graces, not the Imperial family’s?”

Aura knew that a small excuse or a denial would be enough to appease Karl. A single line, like, I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d worry, would have made him back down immediately.

But Aura was also feeling upset. Everything that had happened with him in Ansena had left her feeling cold.

“Even if that were the case, how would I know what the Archduke is thinking?”

Aura said that and started to walk back up the hill. Karl grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks and turning her around. His eyes were cold as he spoke.

“Or did you ask him?”

“What?”

“To help Ansena.”

Aura couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Ryan, after all, was a traitor.

“…If you must, why don’t you go and ask the Archduke yourself? Ask why a man of his standing helped people suffering from a drought. What a very emperor-like question. Don’t you think?”

“Why,” he asked.

“…”

“Why won’t you just say you didn’t do it?”

Only then did Aura realize. Karl truly suspected her.

When she’d been summoned to his office after sending Tasha to prison, Aura hadn’t cared whether Karl believed her or not.

But this time was different. For some reason, her heart felt heavy, and she was on the verge of tears. To ignore the feeling, she became even more rigid.

“If you want to doubt me, then doubt me. I don’t care.”

Karl let out a hollow laugh. “Is that really your answer? Even though I suspect you and the Archduke are in league with each other?”

An immoral relationship with a traitor. It was an insult to Aura. Karl knew this, yet he still said it.

Aura fought back her anger and said, “Think whatever you want. I won’t beg you to believe me, even if it kills me.”

“Don’t say ‘even if it kills you’!” Karl snapped.

Just as Aura flinched, a knight on the hill above them shouted. “Your Majesty! You must move!”

Rumble.

A large wooden barrel was rolling down the hill. It hit a rock and flew into the air with a loud thud.

The barrel was flying directly toward Aura. She was so shocked she froze in place.

Her vision went dark in an instant. She squeezed her eyes shut. Just then, Karl wrapped his arms around her. A tremendous impact slammed into Aura, indirectly.

Aura fell to the ground with Karl.

CRACK!

Then, the sound of the wooden barrel shattering could be heard. The barrel had hit a tree and was in pieces. The wine that had been inside soaked the grass all around.

“…Ugh.”

Karl let out a low groan. Only then did Aura look at him and gasp in shock.

“Karl, Karl! Your shoulder…!”

He was clutching his shoulder.

A Little Later

This is what had happened: a porter carrying a wine barrel had tripped over a rock and fallen. The barrel, of all things, rolled directly toward Aura. If Karl hadn’t shielded her, it would have been a disaster.

Karl received immediate first aid at the headquarters. The knights, who were used to such incidents, quickly put a splint on his arm.

Josh asked, “Shall we get a doctor?”

“No, let’s return to the palace right away. It’s better to be seen by the Imperial Physician.” Karl got up, holding his shoulder.

“What… should we do with the porter who dropped the wine barrel?”

“Let it go. Just hold him responsible for not properly securing the barrel to his carrier.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He calmly put on his outer coat. For him, a wound of this magnitude wasn’t even considered an injury.

“Did the Empress leave first?”

“Yes. She just departed in the carriage.”

It was Karl’s order to send Aura away first.

Though she hadn’t said anything, Aura seemed to be in shock. The sharpness she had shown moments before was completely gone, and her face was pale.

In the end, he had a knight send her back to the palace first. He thought there was no need to show her a more serious injury.

Karl and the knights walked out of the headquarters. Outside, the relief supplies from Sutra were piled high.

Why did we even fight over that…

He hadn’t been genuinely suspicious. He was just hurt by her not telling him about the supplies and her indifference to a letter that professed respect for her. She must have known that her husband would go crazy worrying about something like this.

Just one word to clear things up. Was that one word so difficult to say?

He looked at his shoulder and made a bitter expression.

In any case, it looks like I’m the one who got punished.

Later that Night

Late at night, Aura was sitting curled up on her bed.

She was still replaying the events in Ansena. The harsh words of their argument were long forgotten.

The moment Karl had held her, the impact that had been transmitted through his body. The memory still sent shivers down her spine. The force had been strong enough to knock two adults over.

What had happened to Karl’s shoulder, which had taken the full force of the blow? She had heard that the Imperial Physician had visited Karl, but she hadn’t heard the results and was anxious and curious.

Karl… he’ll be fine. He’s the war hero of Debela, and… when I stabbed him with a sword, he was perfectly fine. A mere wine barrel wouldn’t…

Aura tried her best to calm herself. But the image of him holding his shoulder in pain came back to her vividly.

“Haa…”

Aura pulled the blanket over her head.

Her heart was pounding. One moment she felt that she shouldn’t care about Karl at all, but the next, anxiety and worry washed over her. What bothered her most was the fact that he was hurt because he had shielded her. In that split second, there had been no hesitation in his movements.

“Phew…”

Aura lay down on the bed and tried to fall asleep.

Yeah, he’s fine. If something was wrong, I would have heard by now.

Just then.

Knock, knock.

A knock on the door made Aura sit up slowly. Only one person would knock on her door at this hour. And for the first time, she answered it.

“…Come in.”

The door opened, and sure enough, Karl appeared. His left arm and shoulder were in a cast.

Aura quietly looked at his shoulder. Karl spoke.

“It seems you feel terribly sorry. If you’re going to feel that way, you might as well let me sleep here.”

“…”

“Let me in. Do you really think I’d do anything in this condition?”

Karl gestured to his shoulder with his chin. Aura got out of bed and walked toward him instead of answering. Her face was tense as she asked carefully, “How… how are you?”

In truth, Karl was fine. Luckily, his ligaments and tendons were intact.

Just a small muscle tear. The doctor said it would heal with rest.

But perhaps because he was tired from their argument in the afternoon, Karl wanted to prolong this moment. Just this moment, when she didn’t hate him.

“The doctor doesn’t know yet. If I’m unlucky, there might be some aftereffects.”

“Aftereffects?” Aura’s eyes widened. “What… what kind?”

“Something like… a minor disability.”

“Disa…”

Aura’s face went white before she could even finish the word. She didn’t seem to have heard the word ‘minor.’ Only then did Karl realize he had made a mistake.

Knights who had returned from the front lines often lived with a few minor disabilities. But that was a knight’s perspective. To Aura, his words must sound like a death sentence.

“That’s only in the worst-case scenario, if I’m really unlucky. The Imperial Physician is a bit of a drama queen. Don’t worry about it,” Karl quickly added.

Aura just blinked and stared at his shoulder. Her tightly clasped hands were white.

“Aura?”

“I…” Aura’s voice was trembling, but her tone was still stiff from her shock. “I’m sorry. I should have moved out of the way.”

“…I didn’t say that to get an apology.”

“It’s because of me. Because I didn’t get out of the way quickly enough.”

“No one could have moved out of the way. I couldn’t either, which is why I was hit. In any case, it’s not because of you-“

“Then why did you-!”

Aura suddenly shouted. Karl’s eyes widened as he looked at her. She was visibly distraught. The more she reacted, the calmer Karl became.

Aura struggled to continue. “Why do you… why do you talk like it’s no big deal?”

“…Why are you talking like it is a big deal?”

“Because of you-“

“I’m not looking for an apology, so stop saying it’s because of you.”

“…Haa…”

Aura let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through her hair. She ran her hands over her face and paced around the room. Karl watched her quietly.

After walking a full circle around the room, Aura stopped in front of Karl again. She hesitated before placing a hand on his injured shoulder.

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