For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 61

Josh took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Karl. Karl took it and began to read it.

The same handwriting from the last letter. H.

‘My dear Empress. I apologize for the delay in my letter. I have been struggling to find any more information from Julius’s mansion, but I have found a very important clue. This will likely be the last letter I send you about Finn.’

“!” Karl quickly read on.

‘A practice letter that Julius had intended to send to the Crown Prince was half-burned in the fireplace. There was important information in the part that was not burned.’

“Don’t tell me…”

‘Your Majesty. The ones who have Finn are the Crown Prince, Duke Tein, and Archduke Ryan. The way to break its seal is the sacrifice of a True Blood. I believe it means sacrificing a life.’

“Damn it.” Karl cursed. This informant was truly something. As he continued to read the letter, his brow furrowed.

‘I heard this from the butler of the house, but he said that he tried to make a resonance stone with the leftover materials from making Finn. It’s a tool that tracks Finn’s location, and it reacts as it gets closer to a completed Finn. But he said he gave up after a few failures.’

“…A resonance stone?”

The letter from Julius that Karl had seen did not mention a resonance stone. And he hadn’t found anything like it when he had turned the palace upside down after becoming Emperor.

He was trying to track its location when all the pieces were gathered. If he had actually made one, it would have been a pain.

‘I hope all of this information is useful to Your Majesty. If you summon me, I will meet you at the Imperial Palace. Sincerely, H, who holds you in the highest respect.’

Karl folded the letter.

“…Your Majesty?” Josh asked cautiously.

Karl was lost in thought for a long time before he spoke. “Josh.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Investigate the lady-in-waiting’s family and acquaintances. If any of them have gone beyond Sutra, capture them and bring them back immediately.”

“Ah, understood. What about the letter…”

“I’ll take care of the letter.” Karl put the letter in his pocket. He intended to burn it himself. He couldn’t trust Josh with something like this.

Aura decided to learn how to shoot a crossbow from Ruan. It was something they had been putting off because of the rain. The two of them each took a crossbow and went to the training grounds. The soldiers were a bit flustered by the Empress’s sudden appearance, but with the hunting festival just around the corner, they just went back to what they were doing.

“I’ll show you first.”

“Okay, that’s a good idea.”

Ruan held the crossbow’s body with his left hand and pushed the lever with his right.

Click.

An arrow came down and was loaded. When Ruan pulled the lever, the arrow was released and flew through the air.

Thunk!

The arrow landed perfectly in the center of the wooden target. Aura laughed and shouted, “That’s amazing!”

“It’s not that difficult. You try.”

“Okay. I’ll give it a shot.”

Aura confidently got into position. She was a quick learner and immediately mimicked the posture. Pushing and releasing the lever wasn’t hard.

Swoosh…

The arrow flew.

Thud.

And fell to the ground. Aura was extremely embarrassed.

“…It didn’t even reach the target.”

“You have to aim properly. The tip of the arrow should be a little higher than the target from your perspective.”

“Hmm… I understand. Okay!” Aura confidently pushed the lever again. And held the crossbow a little higher.

Swoosh…

The arrow flew. High into the sky.

The arrow got stuck on a branch. It hadn’t received enough force.

Aura frowned. Annoyed, she said to Ruan, “Show me again. A demonstration.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Swoosh… Thunk!

Ruan easily hit the target again. Aura shot again, but her arrow flew erratically.

“This is not working. What’s the problem…” Aura turned the crossbow over in her hands. The crossbow was, of course, perfectly fine.

“Your body is shaking when you shoot the arrow. Put more strength into your legs and pull your elbow back as much as you can.” Ruan had said this many times. But learning martial arts through words had its limits. It would have been faster if he could have corrected her directly, but he couldn’t. This was not a ballroom, and he couldn’t just touch her.

“…Your Majesty, I think you should stop for a moment.” Minah called out to Aura carefully. Sensing something was wrong, Aura looked around.

When did he get there? Karl was standing with his arms crossed, watching her. He was wearing casual clothes, as if he had been practicing his swordsmanship.

“Your skills aren’t worth watching.”

Aura hid her embarrassment and said, “It seems so.”

Being agreed with so easily made Aura strangely annoyed. “Then leave.” Aura pushed the lever and aimed at the target again.

Step, step.

The sound of footsteps on the grass got closer. Aura glanced over and saw that Karl was already standing beside her.

“I told you to leave.”

“You have to straighten your arm to put more force into it. Even if it’s a machine that shoots arrows, you still need proper force.”

Karl grabbed Aura’s left arm and stretched it out.

“Wha- what are you doing?”

He didn’t care about her surprise and just supported her left elbow. “The arm that pulls the lever…” This time, it was her right arm. Karl grabbed Aura’s elbow and gently pulled it back.

“A little more back. About a handspan more than you think.”

“L-like this?”

“I told you to move your arm, not your back.”

He lightly scolded her and placed his palm on her back to steady her. Only then did Aura tense her back and pull.

As his hands moved, she felt her unused muscles come to life. It was so fascinating that Aura glanced at him.

“Why are you looking at me? You should be looking at the target.”

She quickly looked back at the target. She felt a little embarrassed. Even though she wasn’t the one who had been watching.

“Keep your waist more fixed to the ground. Did you know that your body moves backward every time the arrow leaves because you’re too weak?”

He unhesitatingly wrapped his arm around Aura’s waist. Aura tried to clear her mind and focus on the target. But she couldn’t help but be aware of him.

His large, warm hand. This very hand had set her body on fire just a few days ago.

Karl subtly glanced at Ruan. Ruan just stared at the two of them with a blank expression. Karl leaned in a little and said to Aura, “I’ll hold you steady, so go ahead and shoot. The crossbow should be a little higher… good. Now.”

Swoosh! Thunk!

The arrow hit the target. It wasn’t in the dead center, but it was a decent spot.

“…I hit it!”

Aura, without even realizing it, smiled brightly and said to Karl, “You did a good job.”

Karl stroked her hair once. Only then did Aura snap out of it and take a step back.

“Thank you for teaching me, but I can do it alone now.”

“If you can’t, try a different teacher next time.”

“Emile was teaching me just fine, Karl.”

“I’m sure he was.”

Karl calmly left their side. Aura stared at his back for a moment. She then shook her head as if to shake away her thoughts.

Ruan, who had his hands behind his back, clenched them tightly.

It was the night before the hunting festival. Karl finished his late work and entered his bedroom. He had to leave the palace early tomorrow morning for the festival.

But on his bedside table was a gift box and a bouquet of flowers.

What’s this? The flowers look unfamiliar. A species I’ve never seen before.

Karl summoned a servant and asked about the gifts. The servant replied, “Count Hamilton of the South has sent some wine made from grapes grown in his domain. The flowers are also a species grown in his domain, and they are a specialty of the South. They are known for not wilting easily.”

“Ah, I see.” High-ranking nobles often sent products from their domains. It was a way of showing how well their lands were doing.

Karl sat on his bed and opened the box. A wine bottle with a blue ribbon glittered in the candlelight.

It looks like a high-quality product. I should check how much he pays his people to make this.

Karl casually picked up the bouquet. He wasn’t happy about receiving flowers from a man. He was about to put them away but decided to look at them closely. As a specialty of the South, the petals were large and bold. The scent was also cool and strong.

‘They are known for not wilting easily…’

Karl looked at the clock. It was already past midnight. And tomorrow was the hunting festival. It was the worst time to drink alcohol.

A moment later, he took the bouquet and the wine bottle and left the room.

Aura was sitting on her bed, toying with the crossbow. It was a little worn from how hard she had practiced for the past week. With an arrow loaded in the crossbow, her preparations for the hunting festival were complete.

It’s really tomorrow. She looked around her room. This time tomorrow, she wouldn’t be here. She didn’t feel any sadness about leaving this luxurious life. If there was one thing that bothered her… it was Karl.

No. He’ll be fine. He’s sleeping better now.

She had heard that Karl was sleeping quite well without her. It seemed he was forgetting the memories of Debela as he got used to his life as an Emperor.

Still… he’s going to be furious when he finds out I’m gone.

It would be nothing compared to when she had run away to Ansena. The thought of it already made her shiver.

But she couldn’t give up on Finn just because she was afraid of his anger. That was what Aura believed to be her duty. To do what she had to do.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded, and Aura looked at the door.

Could it be Karl?

Aura gripped her skirt tightly. Just then, the door opened, and a maid entered.

“What is it?”

“Knight Emile would like to see you for a moment. What should I do?”

“Emile?”

Aura quickly put on a robe and went out. Ruan smiled when he saw her.

“Is something wrong? At this hour…”

“I couldn’t sleep. I was wondering if you would like to have a drink.” Ruan slowly shook the wine bottle he was holding. “I’d really like to have a drink if you’re okay with it, Your Majesty.”

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